Banned Cold Out syrup not in circulation in Oman
Published: 05:08 PM,Aug 08,2023 | EDITED : 08:08 PM,Aug 08,2023
Muscat -
The Cold Out syrup, on which the World Health Organisation (WHO) clamped a ban, is already banned in the Sultanate of Oman. As per the WHO’s Medical Product Alert issued on Sunday, the Cold Out syrup (Paracetamol and Chlorpheniramine Maleate) comes under ‘Substandard (contaminated) syrup medicines’.
It was banned earlier in the Sultanate of Oman, and no pharmacies have sold it since then. “We don’t deal in Cold Out in our pharmacies, nor do the private pharmacies in the country,” a pharmacist from the Ministry of Health (MoH) told the Observer.
A random survey through most of the pharmacies, Badr Al Samaa, Muscat Pharmacy, Scientific Pharmacy, Hala Pharmacy, Salama Pharmacy, Al Hashar Pharmacy, revealed that the said syrup is not being sold in Oman.
The India-made cough syrup, considered substandard (contaminated), was identified in the Republic of Iraq and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) last month by a third party in the WHO Region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol found in Cold Out are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal. The substandard batch of the product referenced in WHO Alert is unsafe, and its use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death. Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury that may lead to death.
“This WHO Medical Product Alert refers to one batch of substandard (contaminated) Cold Out syrup (Paracetamol and Chlorpheniramine Maleate). Paracetamol and chlorpheniramine combination syrups are used to treat and relieve symptoms of the common cold and allergy symptoms,” said a WHO representative.
A sample of the Cold Out Syrup was obtained from one location in Iraq after getting the tip-off and was submitted for laboratory analysis. The sample was found to contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol (0.25 per cent) and ethylene glycol (2.1per cent) as contaminants. The acceptable safety limit for both ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol is no more than 0.10 per cent, the WHO spokesperson added.
The Cold Out syrup, on which the World Health Organisation (WHO) clamped a ban, is already banned in the Sultanate of Oman. As per the WHO’s Medical Product Alert issued on Sunday, the Cold Out syrup (Paracetamol and Chlorpheniramine Maleate) comes under ‘Substandard (contaminated) syrup medicines’.
It was banned earlier in the Sultanate of Oman, and no pharmacies have sold it since then. “We don’t deal in Cold Out in our pharmacies, nor do the private pharmacies in the country,” a pharmacist from the Ministry of Health (MoH) told the Observer.
A random survey through most of the pharmacies, Badr Al Samaa, Muscat Pharmacy, Scientific Pharmacy, Hala Pharmacy, Salama Pharmacy, Al Hashar Pharmacy, revealed that the said syrup is not being sold in Oman.
The India-made cough syrup, considered substandard (contaminated), was identified in the Republic of Iraq and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) last month by a third party in the WHO Region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol found in Cold Out are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal. The substandard batch of the product referenced in WHO Alert is unsafe, and its use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death. Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury that may lead to death.
“This WHO Medical Product Alert refers to one batch of substandard (contaminated) Cold Out syrup (Paracetamol and Chlorpheniramine Maleate). Paracetamol and chlorpheniramine combination syrups are used to treat and relieve symptoms of the common cold and allergy symptoms,” said a WHO representative.
A sample of the Cold Out Syrup was obtained from one location in Iraq after getting the tip-off and was submitted for laboratory analysis. The sample was found to contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol (0.25 per cent) and ethylene glycol (2.1per cent) as contaminants. The acceptable safety limit for both ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol is no more than 0.10 per cent, the WHO spokesperson added.