Coldrif tragedy: Inside India’s recurring cough syrup poisonings | LME 95 | Pooja Prasanna

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% 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. For suggestions and feedbacks, write to [email protected] Pooja’s LME? Support the show: https://rzp.io/rzp/support-lmeBecome a TNM subscriber- https://www.thenewsminute.com/subscriptionIf you are watching from abroad, click this link: https://buy.stripe.com/28o01q9md0OPdtm8wRProduced by Megha Mukundan, research by Maria Teresa Raju, script by Lakshmi Priya, Edited by Nikhil Sekhar ET, graphics by Vignesh Manickam, camera by Ajay R Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.