General Pharmacy

(NCDs) have evolved as major public health problems and accounted for 53 % of all deaths in the age group 30–59 years in 2005. It is projected that by 2015 these numbers may increase to 59 % of the total deaths in India.[2] Indians were more prone to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) especially coronary heart diseases (CHDs) at the early age than those people in high income countries.[3] As India’s population ages during next 25 years, deaths caused by CVD, projected to reach 4 million in 2030 compared to 2.7 million in 2004.[4] Tobacco is widely consumed and remains as the most important preventable risk factor with 47 % of men and 15 % of women being regular consumers of tobacco. Road traffic injuries result in the death of more than 100,000 people every year. Even though NCDs are usually expected to occur in the old age, their peak occurrence in India is a decade earlier than western countries. Hence, the issue is not only the burden, but also its prematurity and the resulting socioeconomic consequences.[5] BURDEN OF DISEASE IN INDIA India, accounts for a substantial proportion of the global burden of the disease with 18 % of death and 20 % of the disability adjusted life years (DALYs). Of the estimated 10.3 million deaths that occurred in India in 2004, 5.2 millions were due to chronic conditions. Overall, age standardized mortality rates for chronic conditions were 769 and 602 per 100,000 men and women, respectively.[1] Communicable diseases account for 38 % of the disease burden with large variations across states. Noncommunicable disease