NOTE 55 consumers. The government's direct responsibility for the foreign dominance in formulation drugs is all too obvious. A scrutiny of the product-mix of private companies, multinationals in particular, is most revealing. A large part of the total output consists of drugs which are neither life-saving nor pain-killing, but meant for the use of a small upper stratum of society. Figuring prominently among these preparations are vitamins, tonics and deficiency drugs not specific to any disease, and accounting for 25 per cent of the total manufacture in the foreign sector. These are made not for the masses but for the richer sections who are hab tual users. While it is true that the masses of the poor who barely get two meals a day are badly undernourished in terms of important nutrients, minerals and vitamins, it is the well-fed rich who swallow these pills, tonics and 'deficiency' drugs. Cough syrup which accounts for about five per cent of the total production is a common household remedy; but we are importing all its basic Jingredients. About 14 per cent of the drugs produced are analagestics, tranquilizers and sedatives. Sale of vitamins is 65.2 per cent of the total turnover in the case of E Merck, and ^0.0, 18.1,31.9, 49.5 respectively for Pfizer, Glaxo, Ledarle and Abbot. Tonics form 13.5 and 23.8 per cent of the total sales done by Parke Davis and Sandoz. Cough Syrups form 21.3 per cent of the total sales by Parke Davis, the corresponding percentages being 16.4 and 13.8 for Boots and May & Baker. Analgestics account for 18.9 per cent of the production of Hoechst and 13.2 per cent of John Wyeth.1 Tricks of the Trade Manufacture of vitamins has led to large-scale abuse besides draining scarce foreign exchange. Despite the fact that excess ©f vitamins beyond a certain quantity cannot be absorbed by the body, many firms are manufacturing tablets with higher vitamin content than necessary. For example, no human being needs more than 1.5 mg of vitamin B per day; but, there are preparations containing 100 mg per tablet, in some cases even more than the maximum requirement for the most acute deficiencies. Examples of such products are Becosule, Neurobion, Surbex and Tri-redisol H. At the same time, production of such medcines which can cure specific diseases is limited. There is no better indication of the fact that in the foreign sector drugs are made not to fight disease, but to augment profitability. Only 21.5 per cent of the total drugs produced in India are meant to cure specific diseases. Considering the various diseases endemic in the country like leprosy, malaria and tuberculosis and a host of others, this is profit-motive gone mad. Table II shows the foreign sector in the production of some vital drugs. It is a common practice followed by foreign firms to sell the very same product with minor modifications under different brand names, which leads to enormous price increases for the packing and sales promotion expenses involved. It has been estimated that in many cases selling expenses constitute about 35 per cent of the cost. Large sums are