Question

Read thepassagecarefully. (12)

1. India sells the largest number of branded drugs in the world, almost 60,000 in all. By volume

India is ranked 4th and comprises 8 percent of the global pharma market. This scenario becomes

scary given that spurious and substandard drugs are a thriving parallel industry in our country.

“When manufacturers sell chalk as life-saving drugs, such criminals should be given the death

sentence,” says Dr. P.K. Dave, President of National Academy of Medical Sciences, Delhi and

former Director of AIIMS.

2. Self-medication with genuine drugs also has disastrous fallouts. “I’ve lost count of how many

patients come to us, when water crosses head level,” says Dr. Dave. While Dr. SimranNundy,

consultant gastrointestinal surgeon at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, observes: “Patients come

to me, after six months of taking antacids, to find they’re not suffering from indigestion but

cancer of the stomach or gastric tract.” Most medical experts say pill name-dropping is common.

But besides superficial awareness patients know little about dosage, duration and more

importantly, side-effects. In Calcutta, Dr. Krishnangshu Ray, head of pharmacology at NRS

Medical College and Hospital, agrees: “There’s a drug culture in our state where people assume

they know which drug to take. This is a dangerous habit which accounts for at least 15 to 20

percent of complicated cases.”

3. Besides, no drug, not even an over the counter (OTC) medicine is totally safe. Aspirin on an

empty stomach may lead to severe gastritis. Even paracetamol, considered the safest painkiller,

when taken in high doses or for prolonged periods, can cause liver damage. Then there’s

carelessness. Dr. Gupta observes: “People take cough suppressant for a cough with sputum,

which in fact requires an expectorant. Or, they consume antibiotics without a doctor’s

prescription for viral fever, allergic cold, dry cough, flu or sore throat, which do not require any

antibiotic.” Self-medication of antibacterial drugs can be dangerous. Frequent treatment with

ciprofloxacin for undiagnosed diarrhoea is one of the most common reasons for emergence of

typhoid germs that are resistant to this drug.

4. What makes us such willing pill-swallowers? Dr. WishvasRane, Pune - based health activist,

asserts: “Most viral conditions are self-limiting; 80 percent get cured on their own. This pill-

popping attitude is nurtured by pharmaceutical firms.” This is particularly true in our uniquepharma-sales culture where pills are available without bills and bills can be obtained without

buying pills. Dr. AshishSabherwal,JointSecretary, Indian Medical Association in Delhi, points

out: “Patients just want momentary relief and aren’t willing to get to the root of the problem, so

pills are eaten like peanuts.”

5. Anotherreasonforspirallingself-treatmentisthatgeneralpractitionersorGPs,doctors

whohaveshonethetorchdownourthroatsfromourtoothlessbabyhoodtoouraiming

adulthood,aregraduallyvanishing.

6. In real life, we patients do not have a family friend and a philosopher - our GPs who know us

by blood group, allergies, medical history and emotional upheavals. Hesitant about dashing off to

intimidating ENT specialist when we have throat trouble, we just

checkwiththechemist.Thatcouldbeadosefordisaster.

A. Answer the following questionsbriefly: 24

(i) Why do people indulge in self-medication?

(ii) Why can self-medication have dangerous results?

(iii) What is the effect of an aspirin on our health when taken on an empty stomach?

(iv) What does the habit of taking paracetamol for prolonged periods and in high dosage cause?

B. Find a word in the passage which conveys similar meaning as thefollowing: 14

(i) fake

(ii) most obvious/easilyunderstood

(iii) sensitivity

(iv) result​

Answer 1

A. Answer the following questionsbriefly: 24

(i) Why do people indulge in self-medication?

• People assume that they know which drug to take. Though this is a dangerous habit.

(ii) Why can self-medication have dangerous results?

• Self-medication with genuine drugs have dangerous results because it can give relief but cannot uproot the problem of the case.

(iii) What is the effect of an aspirin on our health when taken on an empty stomach?

• Aspirin on an empty stomach may lead to severe gastritis.

(iv) What does the habit of taking paracetamol for prolonged periods and in high dosage cause?

• The habit of taking paracetamol for prolonged periods and in high dosage cause liver damage.

B. Find a word in the passage which conveys similar meaning as thefollowing: 14

(i) Fake: Spurious

(ii) Most obvious/easilyunderstood:

(iii) Sensitivity:

(iv) Result: Fallout

Answer 2

Explanation:

व्हाय डिड द सीनरी ऑफ इंडिया बैंक कैरी फॉर