New Delhi: The Indian government is considering a tightening of drug-sale regulations following a series of child deaths linked to contaminated cough syrups in recent months. Under a proposal now before the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC), cough syrups may soon be removed from the list of medicines that can be sold freely without a licence, effectively making them available only on prescription.

As per a News18 report, the DCC has been asked to examine whether cough syrups should be taken out of Schedule K, a category reserved for low-risk, everyday medical products that can be sold even in remote areas without the need for a fully licensed pharmacy. The agenda paper refers to the recent cases in which children suffered poisoning and acute kidney failure after consuming syrups found

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