Srinagar, Feb 21:  The State Government Tuesday justified introducing its maiden Drug Policy saying the move was aimed at curbing 'drug mafia' and providing relief to people.
  “Almost 25 % population in Jammu and Kashmir live below poverty line, and it’s their fundamental and constitutional right to receive free health case in government run hospital,” Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma told reporters here.
 Ever since the cabinet approved the policy last month, pharmacy professionals have been protesting saying it will hit their livelihood.
 Speaking on the sidelines of a Regional (PMDT) Review Meeting of North Zone States, Sharma said the Drug Policy was an outreach to common man as its implementation would reduce the burden of out of pocket expenditure on people.
 He said the introduction of Drug Policy in J&K would help in curbing the activities of ‘drug mafia’ that was running in connivance with some doctors.
 “The government is bound to provide affordable medicine to its citizens that why the government is mulling to implement recommendations of Union Government to provide free of cost drugs or medicines to patients at government run hospitals,” Sharma said.
 According to Sharma, ‘negative propaganda’ was being spread by some ‘unscrupulous elements’. “There is a misunderstanding about the policy as most of the stakeholders have not gone through its draft,” he said.
 While lashing out on doctor and health professionals, he said: “Some of them have stigmatized their profession by valuing their commercial needs more over their moral duties.”
 “The drug policy has taken care of all misappropriations and shortcomings in the drug trade to discourage the proliferation of spurious drugs. There is no scope for sale and purchase of banned drugs in the market,” he said.
 The minister quoted an example that the infants and pregnant women were exposed to high dosage of antibiotics and other drugs that have increased drug resistance of some diseases among them. “That is the biggest problem we are facing due to misconduct of doctors who give importance to money and gifts they receive from companies over their duty,” he said.
 Reacting to the apprehensions about the policy, Sharma said the importance of representatives and retailers wouldn’t end. “There role would not end as they will continue giving their services. But they won’t have to market their products to doctor but to chemists,” he said.
 Earlier the minister addressed the review meeting of north zone experts working on the Program Management of Drug Resistance Tuberculosis (PMDT).
 There were delegations from 10 states which deliberated on the prevention and treatment strategies of TB. The function was organized by Director Health Services Kashmir.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 IST