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Authorities destroy ‘expired’ medicines

ABU DHABI — In the past seven months, the Federal Health Authority has confiscated a large quantity of ‘expired’ medicines, including children’s syrups, from pharmacies in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates, stated a senior health official.

“Over the past seven months, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has seized thousands of drugs from private pharmacies and medical stores across the emirates, which had crossed the expiry dates,” said MoH Assistant Under-Secretary Humaid Mohammed Al Shamsi.

He said the confiscated drugs were destroyed in order to ensure safety of the public and to avert any possible health hazards posed by consumption of expired drugs.

Inspection teams from the MoH reported that the seized drugs included those that are prescribed for treatment of diabetes and hypertension, said the official.

“The confiscated quantity included 131 expired syrups used for treating diarrhoea and cough. In addition, 99 expired vitamin injections, and 435 antibiotic capsules were also seized,” said Al Shamsi. Also seized were 3,866kg of chemicals and liquids used for making medicines, and 87 topical medications the majority of which were skin bleaching and complexion creams.

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