Thu 18 June 2026:
The Union Health Ministry has removed ‘syrups’ from Schedule K of the Drugs Rules, 1945, ending their over-the-counter availability. This change, effective June 9, 2026, means all syrup-based medicines, including cough syrups, now require a doctor’s prescription. The amendment followed a draft notification issued in December last year and was approved after review by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board.
In a notification issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare removed the word “syrup” from the list of products exempted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. Earlier, cough syrups, along with lozenges, pills and tablets for cough, could be sold without a prescription under certain conditions.
The decision follows child deaths in India and overseas linked to contaminated syrups, and aims to curb misuse, addiction, and unsafe self-medication.
Doctors welcomed the move as a vital public health step that could save lives, especially among children, by ensuring proper medical supervision.
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Health experts warn that unsupervised syrup use can lead to overdosing in children, masking of serious illnesses, harmful drug interactions, and addiction to ingredients like codeine. Contaminated syrups have caused fatal kidney injuries in children, with incidents reported in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, The Gambia, and Uzbekistan. By enforcing prescriptions, the government aims to ensure correct diagnosis, safer dosing, and reduced misuse.
Hepatologist Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as “TheLiverDoc,” praised the amendment.
“Absolutely wonderful news and super effort from the Government,” he wrote on X, adding sarcastically that people would now need a prescription to obtain “tainted-organ-failure inducing, child-killing cough syrups.”
Journalist Rema Nagarajan criticised suggestions that improper dosage was the primary issue in deaths linked to contaminated syrups.
“So incorrect dosage and incorrect spoon size were the reasons for all the cough syrup deaths???” she wrote, asking , “Giving poison/seriously adulterated cough syrup in the correct spoon size and correct dosage will help?”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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