You will now require a doctor's prescription to buy cough syrups and other syrup medicines

Buying cough syrups now will require a doctor's prescription as the center government amends the law regarding syrup-based medicines.

The move comes months after contaminated cough syrups were linked to the deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, raising fresh concerns over the safety and regulation of commonly used liquid medicines. 

According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the word "syrups" has been omitted from item 7 in the "Class of Drugs" column of Schedule K of the Drugs Rules, 1945. Schedule K specifies categories of drugs that are exempt from certain provisions relating to manufacture, sale, and distribution under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules, subject to prescribed conditions.

"In the Drugs Rules, 1945, in Schedule K, in the column, under the heading Class of Drugs, against serial number 13, in item number (7), the word 'Syrups,' shall be omitted," the notification stated.