Many pharma preparations subject to 'abuse' made in India:INCB

New Delhi, Mar 1 (UNI) The International Narcotics Control Board today said many of the pharmaceutical preparations subject to ''abuse'' in South Asia are manufactured in India.

In its annual report released in Vienna, copy of which made available here, said for many years trafficking in and abuse of pharmaceuticals had been among the largest drug control problems in countries in South Asia, in particular Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

''Though there were strict regulations in India and in most other (South Asian) countries, loopholes in enforcement meant that pharma preparations were subject to diversion at all levels of the supply chain.'' ''That has resulted in widespread abuse of pharmaceutical preparations, affecting all segments of the population, both rich and poor.'' Some of the main problem drug include Buprenorphine, which was the main drug of injection in most areas of India, and cough syrups containing a high level of Codeine, the report said.

The abuse of Dextropropoxyphene in the Northeastern states of India had also increased significantly in recent years, it said.

Dextropropoxyphene was a synthetic pain reliever and although it was banned for sale in some the Northeastern states, it was smuggled from other states and was easily obtained from street merchants, it said.

INCB noted with concern that ATS were also becoming an icreasing problem in several countries in South Asia, in particular India. The abuse of MDMA and Methamphetamine appeared to be increasing in some parts of India.

''There are indications of Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine being smuggled from India through the Northeastern states into Myanmar, where those substances are used for the illicit manufacture of Methamphetamine.'' India produced a significant amount of Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine every year, for licit use in industry. large amounts of Ephedrine (totalling 650 kg) were seized in New Delhi in August and September last year, the report said.

It also warned that trafficking and abuse of opiates, in particular heroin, were serious problems in South Asia, which was geographically sandwiched between West and South East Asia, the two major producers of illicit opiates.

In many countries in South Asia, in particular Bangladesh, India and Nepal, there continued to be long-standing problems with illicit control of pharmaceutical preparations containing controlled substances, it added.

UNI