LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Saturday sought an explanation from the Environment Protection Department, Punjab in response to a petition over sale of medicines in plastic bottles, ARY News reported.
The top court was hearing a petition at its Lahore Registry.
The petitioner in his plea said people contract different diseases due to unhygienic plastic bottles of medicines.
He requested the court to order sale of drugs with quality packing to ensure safety of consumers.
The court, however, said in its remarks that medicines were also sold in plastic bottles in the United States.
CEO of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) told the court the plastic bottles were of international standard. The DRAP official said no side effects occur due to packaging of medicines in plastic bottles.
The chief justice inquired sunlight must have affected medicines packed in a plastic bottle.
Meanwhile, the DRAP on Friday announced to hike prices of medicines by up to 15 per cent. A spokesperson for DRAP termed the hike to be in larger interest of the country and patients.
He said the increase in medicine prices was inevitable owing to various reasons. “The dollar increased by 30 per cent over the last year, which led to an increase in prices of raw material and packaging.”
Besides, the spokesperson said, the increase in gas and electricity prices, employees’ salaries and additional duty put extra burden on the pharmaceutical industry. The prices had to be revised to keep up with the cost incurred on the manufacturing of medicines, he added.
