Let Me Explain: Coldrif tragedy and inside India’s recurring cough syrup poisonings

At least 23 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have died after consuming cough syrup contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic industrial chemical used in brake fluid. 

In Madhya Pradesh, doctors raised warnings weeks before tests confirmed contamination in the drug ‘Coldrif’, but state and central regulators cleared the drug as safe. Tamil Nadu’s lab later found nearly 50 percent DEG. 

This isn’t India’s first such tragedy. Similar cough syrup deaths have occurred since 1972. In this week’s Let Me Explain, Pooja Prasanna explains how repeated negligence, weak regulation, and political influence continue to let poisonous medicines reach patients. 

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