Flush it down the toilet: New guidelines to get rid of specific leftover drugs

The CDSCO has released new guidelines including a “flush list” of medicines that can be safely disposed of down the toilet to prevent misuse. It also urges State authorities to organise Drug Take Back programs under Biomedical Waste Management Rules

Hyderabad : Ever wondered what to do with those expired and unwanted medicines that are lying in your cabinet? We often hoard them, unsure how to safely dispose of them. Surprisingly, there’s a class of drugs that can be simply flushed down the toilet!

Yes, instead of allowing them to gather dust in the cabinet or accidentally falling into the wrong hands, such as a toddler or a family member for whom the medicine was not prescribed, it is better to flush such medicines down the toilet.

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A recent guideline document titled ‘Disposal of Unused/Expired Drug’ from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), under the union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has released a ‘flush list’. This list specifies a set of medicines that people can flush down the toilet, preventing them from being kept in unsafe locations.

The guideline, released recently said “There is a small number of medicines that may be especially harmful and in some cases, fatal with just one dose if they are used by someone other than the person for whom the medicine was prescribed. The list of expired, unwanted, or unused medicines that should be flush down the sink or toilet to prevent danger to people and pets in the home has been prepared,” the guidelines said.

The CDSCO, which is the regulatory body for drug approvals and clinical trials, also issued clear-cut guidelines to State governments and organisations representing druggists/pharmacists to coordinate and organise ‘Drug Take Back’ programs.

What is Drug Take Back program?

The regulatory body has urged the State Governments and pharmacists to establish the methodology and facility for collection and disposal of unused or expired drugs from individual households, as per the provisions of Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016.

“State Drug Control departments and Chemists and Druggists’ Association should jointly launch ‘Drug take back’ sites or programs at designated locations, where people can drop expired or unused drugs from their homes.

These unused drugs can later be finally disposed of by such associations with prior intimation to the concerned State Drug Licensing Authority, and with the help of registered/licensed external agencies, as registered under Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016,” the guidelines from CDSCO said.

The list of drugs that can be flushed down the toilet:

Diazepam, Fentanyl, Fentanyl Citrate, Morphine Sulfate, Buprenorphine, Buprenorphine Hydrochloride, Methylphenidate, Meperidine Hydrochloride, Hydromorphone Hydrochloride, Methadone Hydrochloride, Hydrocodone Bitartrate, Tapentadol, Oxymorphone Hydrochloride, Oxycodone, Oxycodone Hydrochloride, Sodium Oxybate and Tramadol.