The Nepali drug authority orders pharmacies to stop offering unlawful cosmetics and food supplements

Pharmacies have been cautioned by the Department of Drug Administration not to offer unregistered food supplements, nutraceuticals, or cosmetics that include pharmaceutical substances because they may do more harm than good.

The national drug regulating authority said in a statement on Thursday that its drug inspectors discovered unregistered and prohibited food supplements, nutraceuticals, and cosmetic ointments being prescribed by physicians and offered for sale in pharmacies during market inspections.

The agency reported that unregistered nutritional supplements and nutraceuticals in tablet, capsule, and liquid form, as well as cosmetic ointments with prescription substances, were discovered by drug inspectors in both wholesale and retail pharmacies. “Banned and unregistered medications have a negative impact on public health.”

If traders disregarded the department’s warning, unregistered goods would be seized and legal action would follow.

Approximately two-thirds of Nepali physicians are thought to prescribe more drugs than their patients truly require. Patients are not given advice on the benefits of taking vitamin supplements, and the percentage of nutraceuticals—pharmaceutical substitutes that promise physiological benefits—far outweighs the percentage of actual medications purchased.

Some medical professionals and dispensaries have been exploiting low-income individuals by pressuring them to purchase extra vitamin supplements. The majority of patients are ignorant and don’t consider the necessity of the supplements. Companies are suspected of paying doctors kickbacks for administering these expensive medications.

Although medical professionals claim that extra vitamins are only required in certain situations, many physicians nonetheless give their patients needless prescriptions.

Long prescriptions for vitamin supplements are frequently given to patients throughout, and experts worldwide continue to disagree about whether these supplements are beneficial or just marketing gimmicks. Even when the etiology of an illness is unknown, some doctors still recommend vitamins.

Additionally, patients lament that they are compelled to purchase vitamin supplements, which are frequently more costly than prescription drugs.

There is a misconception that physicians who prescribe needless nutraceuticals are more skilled and informed. Patients are forced to purchase these products without realizing their necessity when doctors prescribe them.

In the meanwhile, dietary foods, health supplements, and some Ayurvedic medications can all cause heavy metal toxicity, which has become a major public health concern in Nepal.

Despite the lack of a rigorous investigation, physicians suggest that heavy metal poisoning may be the cause of patients’ frequent complaints of severe abdominal pain, dehydration, diarrhea, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and numbness in the hands and feet.

High lead levels, according to doctors, can harm the kidneys and brain in addition to causing anemia and weakness. Long-term exposure to arsenic is associated with skin conditions and an increased risk of lung, bladder, and skin cancer, while mercury exposure can damage the kidneys, brain, and lungs. Long-term cadmium exposure can cause weakening of the bones and kidney problems.

According to experts, heavy metal poisoning from lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium can occur in persons taking nutritional supplements for weight loss and those utilizing Ayurvedic medicine to control blood pressure and blood sugar.

High concentrations of heavy metals, including as lead, mercury, and arsenic, have been discovered in several dietary supplements and conventional treatments.

Three medicinal plants used in Ayurvedic remedies for common disorders were found to contain harmful metals like as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in a 2020 study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Population’s Department of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine.