The Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu governments have taken action against the manufacturers and distributors of the cough syrup company after reports of children dying after taking the medicine surfaced. MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday banned the sale of Coldrif cough syrup and added that the sale of other products of the company is also being banned. 

Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla said that the samples of the syrup were sent for testing and the received report found 48% toxic substance. “A letter has been written to the Tamil Nadu government for legal action. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has ordered a ban on its supply across the state…Strict action will be taken against those responsible for this…” he said.

“The deaths of children in Chhindwara due to Coldrif syrup are extremely tragic. The sale of this syrup has been banned across the entire Madhya Pradesh. A ban is also being imposed on the sale of other products from the company that manufactures the syrup,” the CM said in a post on X.

He added that the factory producing the syrup is located in Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu) and “so after becoming aware of the incident, the state government had asked the Tamil Nadu government to investigate. The investigation report was received this morning. Strict action has been taken based on the report.”

The CM said a team has also been formed at the state level to investigate this matter and that “the guilty will not be spared at any cost”. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former CM Kamal Nath blamed mixing of ‘brake oil solvent’ in cough syrups for the deaths of children with a suspected kidney ailment.

At least 12 children, nine in MP and three in Rajasthan, died of kidney failure after consuming the cough syrups in the past 15 days. This led to a probe into the manufacturers and distributors of the medicine in the region.

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Rajasthan suspends drug controller

In big action, Rajasthan suspended Drug Controller, Rajaram Sharma, for allegedly influencing determinations of drug quality standards. The state government also banned the sale and distribution of all 19 types of medicines supplied by Kaysons Pharma, Jaipur.

Rajasthan Medical and Health Department said that the action was taken regarding the quality of cough syrup distributed under the Chief Minister’s Free Medicine Scheme and the irresponsible approach adopted in determining drug standards. It said the Health Minister, Gajendra Singh Khimsar, directed the formation of a committee to investigate and take necessary steps. 

As of now, the Rajasthan health department has ceased the distribution of all batches of Dextromethorphan-based medicines. Apart from this, medicines from other pharmaceutical companies supplying this drug have also been halted.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has directed a thorough investigation and effective action in the case of cough syrup quality. 

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Tamil Nadu bans ‘Coldrif’ cough syrup

Not just Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the government of Tamil Nadu has also banned the sale of cough syrup ‘Coldrif’ and ordered its removal from the market following deaths of children linked to the medicine in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. An official of the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department said that the sale of the cough syrup manufactured by the city-based firm, has been prohibited across Tamil Nadu, reported PTI.

The officials in Tamil Nadu also conducted inspections at the pharmaceutical company’s manufacturing facility in Sunguvarchathram in neighbouring Kancheepuram district during the last two days and collected the samples. The official mentioned that the company supplies the medicines to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry.

The samples would be sent to the government run laboratories to test for the presence of the chemical ‘Diethylene Glycol’, he told the news agency.

Health Ministry issues advisory

Following the development, the Union Health Ministry on Friday issued an advisory to all States and Union Territories, directing that cough and cold medications should not be prescribed to children under the age of 2 years.

The Directorate General of Health Services released an advisory for all to aware people about the medicines to be administered to the children.

An official said the cough syrup manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu would also be tested by the Union government.