Pakistan to ban conventional syringes from January 2027

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government has decided to ban conventional disposable syringes as part of efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.

According to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), the manufacture, import, and sale of conventional syringes will become illegal after 31 December 2026.

Effective 1 January 2027, conventional 1cc and 10cc syringes will be prohibited, and only safety-engineered (auto-disable/auto-lock) syringes will be permitted for sale across the country.

DRAP said the decision was taken on the directives of the Prime Minister to strengthen infection control measures and reduce the risk of disease transmission caused by the reuse of disposable syringes.

Under the new policy, conventional disposable syringes will be replaced with auto-lock safety syringes, which are designed to prevent reuse.

The regulatory authority has issued formal notifications to syringe manufacturers and importers, while the DRAP Medical Devices Board has also approved the ban.

Read more: Reuse of syringes root cause of Valika Hospital HIV cases: report

Conventional 10cc syringes will remain available only under restricted conditions for use in large public and private hospitals where they are required for specific medical procedures.

To monitor their limited use, DRAP will establish a digital tracking portal. Secondary and tertiary care hospitals will be required to upload data on the use of conventional syringes to the portal to ensure regulatory oversight and traceability.

Earlier, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) declared several batches of auto-disable syringes manufactured by six companies as substandard and issued a medical product alert.

In a statement, the DRAP has said 3ml and 5ml auto-disable syringes failed to meet required quality standards.

The decision was based on testing carried out by the Central Drugs Laboratory in Karachi, which found that three sampled batches of three syringes manufactured by three international companies did not comply with auto-disable functionality requirements.

According to the DRAP, the substandard batches include products from manufacturers based in China, Egypt, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.