Kathmandu, Sept 3: The Department of Drug Administration (DDA) has directed for putting red line on the label of antibiotic medicines.

DDA Director General Narayan Prasad Dhakal said the directive to mark the label of antibiotics with red lines has been issued so that the consumers will not take these drugs without the physician’s prescription.

“The consumers should take the medicines with red lines on their label on the basis of the doctor’s prescription. We have conducted a campaign for putting red lines on the label of antibiotic medicines so that people will not take the antibiotics in wanton manner,” he said, adding that people will be warned not to take medicines having red lines on their label in careless manner.

The DDA Director General reiterated that the campaign is also for informing the consumers that the medicine with red lines on their label is antibiotic.

The DDA has directed the pharmaceutical industries and drugs importers to mandatorily print red lines on the label of antibiotic medicines once the stock of the first and second packaging materials for the Group ‘B’ antibiotic category of medicines to be marketed is finished or on antibiotic medicines to be manufactured after six months at the latest from the date this decision was made.

It is stated that the provision of marking the label of antibiotics with red lines has been enforced so that the medicine users and non-medical health care staff, among others can easily identify the antibiotics and their use. This provision is in line with the international practice aimed at minimizing the antibiotics resistance.