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

A cough syrup is one of the most ordinary medicines on your shelf – something you’d give your child without a second thought.

This simple act of care has turned fatal for many parents.

At least 23 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are dead after consuming cough syrup laced with a deadly industrial chemical.

In Madhya Pradesh, the culprit was Coldrif – a syrup adulterated with diethylene glycol or DEG. DEG is a poisonous solvent used in car brake fluid and coolants, never meant for human consumption. Even small amounts can destroy the kidneys, especially in children.

India’s drug control system must be held directly responsible for the deaths of these children.

For years, Indian pharmaceutical companies have exported cough syrups contaminated with DEG – and children have died, not just in India, but across the world.

In The Gambia and Uzbekistan, dozens of children were killed. Nepal and Ghana have raised complaints.

Yet beyond token responses and official denials, India has done little to prevent these tragedies, or ban the use of DEG outright.

And that’s not the only failure.

Pharmaceutical companies have always bought political influence. By paying huge donations. So from the small to the big defaulters, hardly anyone is seriously punished. 

Let Me Explain