Dehradun, Oct. 7 -- The Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA), Uttarakhand, has launched an intensive statewide campaign against the sale and distribution of banned cough syrups. The move comes in the wake of incidents of children falling ill and dying in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh after consuming contaminated syrups. Drug controller and additional commissioner FDA Tajbar Singh Jaggi, on Monday, said that protecting children's health has been given the highest priority, with continuous raids being conducted across the state. "Acting on the directions of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and health minister Dhan Singh Rawat, teams collecting samples from medical stores, wholesalers, and hospital pharmacies, which are being sent to laboratories for immediate testing," he said. He said the campaign is being carried out with utmost sensitivity. "So far, 63 drug samples have been collected and sent for testing. Along with cough syrups, raw materials such as polyethylene glycol and sorbitol are also being tested to rule out irregularities at the manufacturing stage," he said. He added that strict instructions have been issued to all district drug control officers to intensify inspections and take swift action where irregularities are found. "This is a precautionary step to ensure no child's health is put at risk under any circumstances," Jaggi stressed. He urged parents not to give any medicine especially cough syrups to children without medical consultation. He also advised families to check expiration dates carefully and dispose of unfinished medicines safely....