The Telangana State Drugs Control Administration (DCA) conducted a raid on a medical store in Attapur, Rajendranagar, and confiscated a medicine called ‘ALTACOLD Suspension’ for falsely claiming to treat fever. This medicine was being sold in violation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
During the raid by DCA officials from the Serilingampally zone, it was discovered that ‘ALTACOLD Suspension’ was manufactured by Candour Pharmaceuticals in Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, and marketed by Altavista Healthcare in Bengaluru. The label on the product falsely stated that it could treat fever.
Under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, it is illegal to advertise certain drugs for the treatment of specific diseases. V B Kamalasan Reddy, director general of the DCA, explained that while medicines like paracetamol can help with fever symptoms, they do not address the underlying cause of the fever itself. Therefore, medications cannot claim to treat ‘fever’ in general.
In another raid, DCA officials found unauthorized manufacturing of white petroleum jelly in Quthbullapur. A medical shop in Pet Basheerabad was producing and selling ‘Pure Line’ petroleum jelly without the necessary authorization or compliance with labeling regulations. This product was deemed misbranded and posed health risks to consumers due to not meeting Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and quality standards specified in the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).
