The Central government has asked all the states to enact strict laws to counter the spurious drug problem in the country. It wanted the state governments to consider formation of laws similar to "The Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985" which provides for preventive detention of drug offenders for anti-social activities and dangerous activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
In Gujarat, spurious drug manufacturers can be sentenced for life imprisonment under this law.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also proposed the amendment of Drugs and Cosmetics Act for including stricter provisions for making such offenses non-bail able and cognizable. It is known that the Union Health Minister has written to all Chief Ministers seeking their personal intervention to ensure that adequate measures are taken in each state to vigorously pursue the strategies needed to preclude any possibility of menace of spurious products.
The union ministry has also recommended measures to improve uniformity in implementing various regulatory requirements by the state enforcing authorities. This includes the augmentation of drug testing facilities in the states for speedy analysis of drug samples with a view to bring down testing time of samples of drugs, efficient communication networking through computerization for efficient information exchange, surveillance over distribution of drugs through medical practitioners, improvement of regulatory infrastructure, speedy trial by identified or designated courts for deciding spurious drug cases, announcement of toll free numbers to allow consumers and doctors make complaints and establishment of intelligence-cum-legal cell and anti-spurious squad to detect and unearth spurious drugs cases.
Setting up of reactive state drugs advisory committees with all stakeholders as its partners, undertaking surveillance of suspected dealers through decoy customers/watchers, introducing training programmes for officers of drugs control administration in matters concerning development of intelligence, detection, investigation, preparing and filing complaints, court procedures etc and involving pharma industry to take adequate initiative to detect counterfeiting/imitation of their product and proper co-ordination with drug regulatory agencies were also suggested by the ministry.