New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has tightened regulations on the sale of cough syrups across India. Under a newly amended rule, pharmacies are now strictly prohibited from selling liquid cough formulations without a valid prescription from a registered medical practitioner.
To enforce this, the government has removed liquid cough syrups from Schedule K of the Drugs Rules. This particular schedule covers medicines that are exempted from certain licensing conditions, effectively allowing them to be sold over the counter (OTC) without a prescription.
However, the new restriction is specific to liquid formulations. Cough lozenges, tablets, and pills are exempt from this rule and can still be purchased over the counter.
