MP News: Cheaper Than Alcohol, Cough Syrup New Addition For Youth; Bhopal Emerging As Supply Base

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): While the recent tragedy in Chhindwara, where 16 children lost their lives after consuming cough syrup, has raised alarm over the safety of such medicines, another trend is emerging abuse of cough syrup as an intoxicant among youth.

Doctors have issued serious warnings that excessive and prolonged consumption of cough syrup can lead to severe kidney and liver damage. Despite these dangers, youths continue to use it as a cheaper alternative to alcohol. The syrup, which is easily available at most medical stores without a doctor’s prescription, is becoming an addiction, especially among students and unemployed youth.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a medical store owner revealed that a large number of his regular buyers are young men who purchase cough syrup for intoxication. However, he claimed that most of them are from outside Bhopal and are students or labourers who consume it regularly as a form of addiction.

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Meanwhile, the city has become an increasingly important supply hub for the entire state. Police records from the past few years reveal a pattern indicating that cough syrups are primarily supplied from Bhopal.

The illegal trade routes for these syrups, often containing codeine phosphate or other narcotic components, connect Bhopal to districts such as Maihar, Rewa, Satna, and Chhindwara, where addiction to cough syrup is rising rapidly.

In February 2025, Indore police raided a warehouse near Hanumanganj police station and seized 5,240 bottles of cough syrup and narcotic tablets worth nearly Rs 1 crore. Three accused were arrested, who confessed that the consignment was being supplied from Bhopal.

A year earlier, in February 2024, Bhopal’s Crime Branch uncovered another major racket in Shahjahanabad, recovering 127 cartons of syrup worth Rs 25 lakh from a house-turned-godown. The main accused, identified as Ankit Bang, allegedly supplied the syrup across several districts of Madhya Pradesh, including Maihar and adjoining regions.

In June 2022, Rewa police had seized 3,040 bottles of syrup and arrested three persons.One of them was from Bhopal, revealing again that the capital was the main supply base.

Dr Meet Dwivedi said that the prolonged use of cough syrups can cause long-term damage to the vital organs, leading to irreversible health complications. Cough syrups and other medicines should only be consumed on prescription, he added. 

[Story by Staff Reporter]