BEIJING - China's drug watchdog has urged local authorities to mete out severe punishments on illegal sales of compound drugs containing ephedrine, calling for stricter control over these drugs that can easily be turned into meth.

In a circular published on its website earlier this week, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) urged local drug authorities to seriously implement relevant laws and regulations on controlled drugs and strictly control the production and marketing of ephedrine-containing drugs.

Drug regulatory authorities will revoke the production or marketing licenses of pharmacies and enterprises that sell compound drugs containing ephedrine for making meth through illegal channels, regardless of the quantity, the circular said.

The circular came after a number of cases in which a great deal of compound drugs containing ephedrine, such as the cold remedy New Contac, were sold in some pharmacies around the country, giving rise to meth-making opportunities.

In Lishui county of East China's Jiangsu province, a pharmacy sold 400 boxes of New Contac to an unidentified person in June 2011, violating a regulation limiting the sale of ephedrine-containing drugs to 50 pills, or five 10-pill boxes. The drugs were used to make meth, and the pharmacy's marketing license has been revoked, the circular said.

The SFDA also called for strictly controlling ephedrine-containing compound drugs, widely publicizing and educating the public on the risks of ephedrine and raising enterprises' awareness.