The All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation (AIDCOC) will soon initiate a campaign in major cities to sensitize the public about the do's and don'ts related to drug consumption.

As a prelude to this, AIDCOC has started a pilot awareness campaign in Andhra Pradesh with pamphlets, banners and displays in retail chemist outlets elaborating the evils of self medication, adverse drug reactions, consumer rights, responsibilities of pharmacists etc. Soon AIDCOC will extend the campaign to other states. Further, the organization is also planning to set up hoardings in major cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and other metro cities to convey the message to a large population, according to S W Deshpande, president, AIDCOC.

"Our association has lined up a few programmes and activities which are meant to make our presence felt in the industry and among general public. The programmes are largely aimed at supporting the cause of consumers of drugs and as part of our commitment to the people of our country. Training and knowledge updation programmes are also part of the agenda. We are planning to scale up the pilot project in Andhra to a national scale," said Deshpande.

He said AIDCOC was invited by the Bihar Government a few months ago to train the DCA officials in the state. AIDCOC considers the invitation by the Government as recognition to the largest body of the drug control officers in the country. Most of the regulatory officials in the country, except for a few in one or two states, are members of the organization. The association is very active in states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, noted Deshpande.