Hyderabad: Addiction to habit-forming medicines is emerging as a concern in Hyderabad and other urban areas of Telangana, with officials intensifying inspections to curb their illegal sale.Over the past week, TG SAFE officials have suspended the licences of 106 medical shops in Hyderabad and its peripheral areas and issued show-cause notices to 125 more after finding irregularities in the sale of habit-forming drugs classified under Schedule H1 and Schedule X of the Drugs Rules.To understand the issue, it is important to distinguish between habit-forming drugs, standard medicines and prescription drugs. Not all prescription medicines are addictive. For instance, antibiotics and blood pressure medicines generally do not cause addiction. However, some habit-forming medicines can lead to dependence, meaning people may require higher doses over time and find it difficult to stop taking them.During raids on medical shops in areas under the CURE region, including Gajularamaram, Quthbullapur, Malkajgiri, Kapra, Habsiguda, Uppal, Jeedimetla, Balanagar and Shameerpet, officials found unauthorised sales of several prescription medicines, including opioid painkillers, sedatives, anti-anxiety drugs, sleep medications, anticonvulsants and codeine-based cough syrups. These included tramadol, alprazolam, nitrazepam, tapentadol, zolpidem and pregabalin formulations.A senior TG SAFE official said that the decoy operations will continue at medical shops in the coming days and if licensed pharmacies continue to violate the rules, steps will be taken to cancel their licences. “The drugs these shops were found selling cannot be sold without a valid prescription, and pharmacies must maintain proper records of their sale. However, we found that some medical shops were violating these rules and selling habit-forming medicines without following the prescribed procedures,” a TG SAFE official said.Meanwhile, welcoming the move, representatives of the Hyderabad Chemist and Druggist Association (HCDA) said, “Inspections should also cover online pharmacies and corporate pharmacy chains. People can misuse online prescriptions and even use AI to seek medicines without proper medical advice. Enforcement should be uniform across all pharmacies, irrespective of their size or ownership.” Regarding this the official said that the checks will also be on corporate hospital pharmacies in the coming days.According to official data, there are approximately 45,000 medical shops operating across the state excluding corporates and e-pharmacies. The number of retail and wholesale medical shops has grown significantly from about 20,000 in 2014 to 45,000 at present. Hyderabad alone has around 15,000 such shops.While these medicines have legitimate medical uses, health experts warn that their misuse or consumption without medical supervision can lead to dependence and serious health complications.“People often assume prescription medicines are safe because they are sold at pharmacies. However, drugs such as alprazolam, when taken without medical advice or in higher doses than prescribed, can cause dependence. Mixing such medicines with alcohol or other drugs can also lead to dangerous side effects,” said Dr Kiran Madhala, secretary general of the Telangana Teaching Doctors’ Association (TTGDA).Mental health experts said that while some people start using habit-forming medicines to deal with sleep problems, anxiety or stress, they do not realise the risk of dependence. Over time, they may require higher doses to achieve the same effect and find it difficult to stop taking the medicines without professional help.“People may initially use these medicines for temporary relief from stress or sleep problems, but repeated use can lead to dependence. Counselling, family support and medical treatment can help them address the underlying issues, manage withdrawal symptoms and prevent relapse,” said Dr Vivaswan Boorla, a govt psychiatrist.Experts emphasised that stricter checks on pharmacies must be accompanied by public awareness about the dangers of misusing prescription medicines.
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