Medicines usuallygo through multiple processes until they reach patients. The most important ofthese methods is their official approval by competent authorities for theiruse. The medicines usually get marketed in some countries or all over theworld, and sometimes patients suffer some side effects and risks with theiruse, so withdrawing them is required until alternatives are found to protectpeople's health.
Assistantundersecretary for drug and food control affairs at the health ministry DrAbdullah Al-Bader announced that the department has suspended and withdrawnsome ranitidine medications, including the innovative formulation Zantac, forthe treatment of acidity and reflux, as a precautionary measure, based on the preliminaryresults of analyses that were carried out in the laboratories of the departmentof registration and control. The US Food and Drug Administration and theEuropean Commission on Medicines have said some of these medicines are likelyto be carcinogenic.
"Theinternational health authorities are currently studying and determining thepermitted safe proportions of NDMA in food products and pharmaceuticals,"Bader said, adding that until the completion of these investigations,ranitidine medications are being withdrawn in order to ensure the health andsafety of patients. Patients were advised to consult their doctors for the useof available alternatives and to report any side effects of pharmaceuticalsthrough the drug side effects reporting form on the health ministry website.
I think the MoHdid well by suspending the use of the drug, and I hope that patients who takemedications continuously, especially people with diabetes and blood pressure,should follow medical updates because the price is their life. The ministrymust inform people of developments that may appear.
I think people'sawareness of the side effects of any medicine is important, especially sincesometimes some people buy drugs that may be unlicensed through social media.This I believe is very dangerous. So I was very pleased to read that ministryof health recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the GS1 Foundationto start activating the system of accurate tracking of medicines and medicalsupplies by barcode. This system tracks medicines and medical suppliesaccurately from the manufacturer through the stores and pharmacies until theyreach the patient, according to a ministry statement.
I sometimes seesome private pharmacies exaggerate the offers of their products, whethercosmetic or medical, to encourage people to buy. The ministry of health shouldnot allow non-pharmacists to display medicines and products and sell them tothe public due to the seriousness of the matter. I hope MoH distributesleaflets to patients at government hospitals and clinics with medical updatesand latest news people need to learn about.
It is naturalthat the withdrawal of any medication, especially for those who use it for longperiods of time, is worrying, but these patients should consult with theirspecialist doctors for other safe alternatives. I think the issue ofwithdrawing unsafe medicines requires public awareness and careful follow-up bythe ministry of health.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
muna@kuwaittimes.net