Staff Reporter :
Fake mosquito coils with excessive ‘active ingredient’ have flooded the markets across the country including Dhaka city for lack of monitoring by the authorities concerned.
Health experts said the additional use of active ingredient in the coils may cause cancer, affliction in windpipe and birth defects and problems in pregnancy.
The consequence of toxic chemicals in the coils is compared with the effect of the arsenic poison by the experts.
Prof Mahmudur Rahman, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told The New Nation on Friday that the toxic ingredient is harmful for people of all ages, particularly for children.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) allows using .03 limit of active ingredient in mosquito coils to chase away leech but not to kill. But it is found that the fume emerge from coils manufactured by many brands can kill even a lizard.
Sources said some coils imported from China are also made with excessive health hazardous chemicals. The import does not follow the specified rules.
The Agriculture Directorate’s approval is mandatory for producing, marketing and preserving mosquito coils according to the Pesticide Ordinance 1971 and the Pesticide Rules 1985.
Not only that, the number of the Public Health Product and the approval of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) must be needed for this purpose.
While talking to The New Nation, Riazul Huq, Assistant Director of the BSTI, said that there are number of coil manufacturer brands has permission to do mosquito coils production. Apart from them there are number of illegal production mixed in the market which carry unbalanced ingredients for severe cause of health risk.
After investigating the coil market brands like ACI, Reckitt Benckiser etc local giant and multinationals maintain the proper integrands as per the BSTI approved guide line.
There are numbers of fancy named brands like Super Discovery, Masranga, Sonali King, Pagoda gold Tulshi Patha, Super Filips DIM Jambu, Atang King Safe Guard, Extra High Power Lizard Mega, Boss Super, Tata High Speed, Metro, Super Jadu, Masranga King, Super Sun Power, AZ Meghna, Maruf Power, Magic, Polar and Masranga Meg in the market which may have license but there is big question mark of the proper ingredients mixing of those.
Even authorities are struggling to measure the quality control of those brands as during the lab test they go through with the proper rules and regulations, but after license documentation it has no further quality control filtering process.
“If anyone produces coils without approval, legal action will be taken against the producers,” added Riazul.
“At least 20 to 22 companies are making coils using additional ingredient. The authorities concerned should take steps in this regard, said Associate Prof of Zoology Department of the Jahangirnagar University Kabirul Bashar .
Director of the Agriculture Directorate (Botany Protection Wing) Abul Kalam Azad said that we have learnt that some factories are manufacturing and selling mosquito coils without any approval.
“We will take tough action against them soon”, he added.
Fake mosquito coils with excessive ‘active ingredient’ have flooded the markets across the country including Dhaka city for lack of monitoring by the authorities concerned.
Health experts said the additional use of active ingredient in the coils may cause cancer, affliction in windpipe and birth defects and problems in pregnancy.
The consequence of toxic chemicals in the coils is compared with the effect of the arsenic poison by the experts.
Prof Mahmudur Rahman, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told The New Nation on Friday that the toxic ingredient is harmful for people of all ages, particularly for children.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) allows using .03 limit of active ingredient in mosquito coils to chase away leech but not to kill. But it is found that the fume emerge from coils manufactured by many brands can kill even a lizard.
Sources said some coils imported from China are also made with excessive health hazardous chemicals. The import does not follow the specified rules.
The Agriculture Directorate’s approval is mandatory for producing, marketing and preserving mosquito coils according to the Pesticide Ordinance 1971 and the Pesticide Rules 1985.
Not only that, the number of the Public Health Product and the approval of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) must be needed for this purpose.
While talking to The New Nation, Riazul Huq, Assistant Director of the BSTI, said that there are number of coil manufacturer brands has permission to do mosquito coils production. Apart from them there are number of illegal production mixed in the market which carry unbalanced ingredients for severe cause of health risk.
After investigating the coil market brands like ACI, Reckitt Benckiser etc local giant and multinationals maintain the proper integrands as per the BSTI approved guide line.
There are numbers of fancy named brands like Super Discovery, Masranga, Sonali King, Pagoda gold Tulshi Patha, Super Filips DIM Jambu, Atang King Safe Guard, Extra High Power Lizard Mega, Boss Super, Tata High Speed, Metro, Super Jadu, Masranga King, Super Sun Power, AZ Meghna, Maruf Power, Magic, Polar and Masranga Meg in the market which may have license but there is big question mark of the proper ingredients mixing of those.
Even authorities are struggling to measure the quality control of those brands as during the lab test they go through with the proper rules and regulations, but after license documentation it has no further quality control filtering process.
“If anyone produces coils without approval, legal action will be taken against the producers,” added Riazul.
“At least 20 to 22 companies are making coils using additional ingredient. The authorities concerned should take steps in this regard, said Associate Prof of Zoology Department of the Jahangirnagar University Kabirul Bashar .
Director of the Agriculture Directorate (Botany Protection Wing) Abul Kalam Azad said that we have learnt that some factories are manufacturing and selling mosquito coils without any approval.
“We will take tough action against them soon”, he added.
