'Clean your medicine cabinet' campaign launched

Dubai: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced on Thursday the launch of “Clean your medicine cabinet”, an initiative that encourages people to drop off expired or unutilised medicines at any of the DHA pharmacies in Dubai.

As part of the campaign, DHA pharmacies located across 14 DHA primary health care centres and its hospitals — Dubai, Rashid, Latifa and Hatta — will accept expired or unused medication.

Khalid Al Shaikh Mubarak, deputy director-general of the DHA, said: “The campaign is being held to ensure people do not store expired medicines in their homes as it is a safety hazard. Our aim is to ensure the correct method of disposal, which is returning expired or unused medicines to pharmacies.”

He said residents can return these medicines to DHA pharmacies located across Dubai at no cost, adding that the programme was first introduced in June 2012. The DHA is holding the campaign to remind people and to reinforce this habit.

The expired medicines will be disposed off in line with international pharmaceutical safety guidelines. As for the unused medicines, they will first be evaluated by experts within the pharmacy department and then DHA will donate valid medication that is in a good condition to charities.

Dr Ali Sayed, the director of Pharmaceutical Services Department at DHA, said that expired medication can pose serious health risks to individuals if not disposed of properly. “Instead of flushing your medication, which is harmful for the environment and pollutes the water, outdated medications should be returned to pharmacies, to ensure they will be safely disposed of.”

He added that the DHA coordinates with Dubai Municipality to dispose of expired medication.