Phensedyl, a Narcotic drug or a cough syrup? Finally decided!

Repoter : News Room
Published: 22 May, 2022 11:07 am

Anik Das

Anik Das: It is not a new debate to join whether Phensedyl a cough syrup or a narcotic drug. Few days before, a doctor happens to be known to me, was talking about Phensedyl. He was of the opinion that, phensedyl should be tagged as narcotic drug as it contain one of the narcotic chemical element called codeine(C₁₈H₂₁NO₃) and manufactured by M/s Abbott Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. But first we shall understand the chemical structure. It contains both the Codeine and Triprolidine. Codeine is an opiate and product of Morphine used to treat pain, coughing and diarrhea. Whereas Triprolidine is used as antihistamine. In the infamous case of Badal Kumar Pal, DAG Biswajit Debnath added “elements of Phensedyl include codeine phosphate and chlorpheniramine which are produced from opium and injurious to public health.”

Badal Kumar Pal of Jenidhah was arrested from Benapol for smuggling 250 Phensedyl bottles. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lower Court. But while hearing an appeal the High Court Division with the sitting of Justice Abdur Rashid and Justice Siddiqur Rahman Miah on March 12, 2003 challenging his jail term declared that subsection 3 of section 9 of Narcotics Control Act 1990 along with Drug ordinance 1982 did not made the use of codeine phosphate in medicine punishable offence. The HC added, ‘unless any law declares phensedyl contraband, use of chlorpheniramine maleate or codeine phosphate in phensedyl will not make it contraband as a schedule narcotic,’ Therefore The HCD acquitted the accused Mr. Badal Kumar Pal. A similar judgment were passed by the apex court of India in 2015 on Vicky Kumar @ Baba And Anr. Vs Union Of India (N.C.B).

‘Both the substances in question is being used in medicine as analgesic, antihistamine, cough suppressant and for diarrhea even in Bangladesh. Therefore carrying or possession of the phensedyl seized is not a punishable offence under serial 3 Ka and Kha of Table following Section 19(1) of Narcotics Control Act 1990.” The High Court Division observed while considering the matter.

The question now arises is Phensedyl a Narcotic Drug and be banned?

Mr. M.K. Pal, Deputy Drugs Controller and Controlling Authority of the Indian State of Tripura in an interview taken by UNODC stated that Codeine phosphate undoubtedly a derivative of codeine, which comes from opium. He noted that the drug became popular in Bangladesh after the ban on liquor and it is unfortunate that the drug is still on run even after the chemical formulation is changed.

In a report by all agencies across Bangladesh, “the security agencies seized 566,525 bottles in 2016, 720,843 in 2017, 715,529 in 2018 and 976,663 in 2019, the lists rose to 1,007,977 in 2020. In a report by The Hindu Daily Newspaper in weeks of 2022, the South Bengal Frontier of the BSF had seized about 1,000 bottles of Phensedyl in the Indo-Bangladesh border areas. In 2021, South Bengal Frontier seized about 1.64 lakh bottles of the Phensedyl cough syrup. The DNC director Kusum Dewan thinks that the number would be far bigger in the current year.

The Drug has have a bad history in the foreign countries also. The American society of Health System Pharmacists does not recommend it as a cough syrup under the age of twelve years. The study shows that the drug starts working within half an hour and reaches to it’s maximum effect in two hours. The effect lasts for four hours approximately. It is a SCHEDULE TWO drug in USA means the drug has high potential for abuse. In UK it is a CLASS-B drug under Medicines Act, 1968 meaning it is legal without prescription upto 12.8 mgs per dose or 15mg per 5ml oral solution. In our neighboring Country India where the drug is basically produced is banned since 2016.

In recent Appeal by the State party in Badal Kumar Pal case the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh with a five judges virtual bench headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foyez Siddique ruled out the HC verdict of 2003 which declared the possession and carrying of Phensedyl no crime.

While imposing the ban on Phensedyl the SC noticed that The Narcotics Control Act 2018 banned the manufacturing of all narcotic substances except alcohol and also upheld the life sentence of Badal Kumar Pal. Now the question of Phensedyl being Narcotic Drug is answered positively by the apex court of Bangladesh accepting the drug as a Narcotic Substance and it should have been given Narcotics status earlier.

Writer: Anik Das; Student,Department of LAW, University of Chittagong.