-Livemint.com * Trying to start a new life is turning out to be difficult due to a collapse in demand. A ground report from Bihar. * Consumption of drugs has spiked to dangerous levels. So much so that cough syrup brands, sedative drugs like Netravet and an adhesive named Sunfix are household names ARARIA/ NEW DELHI: Bergachi Chowk is a busy intersection, a short ride away from Araria town in northern Bihar, an...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A health consortium today questioned a decision by Delhi High Court earlier this week to quash the Centre's ban on 344 cocktails of two or more medicines and urged doctors across the country to stop prescribing them. The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), the Indian section of the global People's Health Movement, said it was shocked at the judgment because there was "no scientific rationale" for the continued use...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a significant move ensuring safety and efficacy of medicines, the health ministry has banned around 350 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs that were widely available in the market till now. These medicines include FDCs based on codine, used in popular cough syrups like Phensedyl and Corex. The government has decided to prohibit manufacturing and sale of these medicines because they were found to be "irrational"...

-The Indian Express Kerala Excise Minister K Babu on Friday said the state is confronting a major challenge as liquor-addicts are exploring new ways to set off the reduced availability of liquor. Thiruvananthapuram: After closure of 712 liquor bars below five- star category in Kerala April this year, abuse of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances is going up alarmingly along with the increased sale of illegal liquor and even stimulating ayurvedic tonics,...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Now, you will need a doctor's prescription for buying common antibiotics, certain pain-relievers, anxiety-busters and sleeping pills. Retail chemists have started asking for prescriptions while dispensing 46 medicines across therapies-these cover over 7,000 formulations in the domestic market. The sale restrictions apply to popular antibiotics, best-selling cough syrups like Corex and certain anti-tuberculosis medicines, all of which used to be easily available over the counter. The new rules...