Calcutta, Aug. 30 :    Calcutta, Aug. 30:  Disprin, a medication that had become a household name, has been withdrawn. Stocks at chemists' shops are dwindling, and smaller outlets have run out of the over-the-counter drug, raising concern among its many users. The tablet's manufacturer, Reckitt Benckiser (formerly Reckitt Colman), has decided to withdraw the product and introduce Disprin Plus, which has paracetamol as the painkiller ingredient in place of acetylsalicylic acid, or age-old aspirin. The company's move, industry circles say, is a fall-out of the Centre's price control order that sharply brought down the cost of aspirin powder, the main component of Disprin. Had the company continued to produce the tablet, its price would have fallen further. The tablets were available at Rs 2.75 for a strip of 10. 'One of the main reasons for the drug's popularity was its price,' pointed out Prof B.K. Gupta, president of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association's Bengal branch. 'Besides, the tablets had calcium carbonate and citric acid, which helped them to dissolve and act faster. This effervescence was also a cause for its popularity.' The notification, issued by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority some months ago, was prompted after aspirin was placed in the life-saving drug category because of its anti-coagulatory benefits. Most Disprin users took the medication not because of its painkilling attributes but because of aspirin's capacity as a 'blood thinner,' thus helping in preventing clots. 'Everyone above the age of 35-40 should have a low dose of aspirin to prevent heart attacks, strokes and thrombosis,' pointed out cardio-vascular surgeon Bhabatosh Biswas. 'Persons with acidity or ulcer problems, however, should not have aspirin, as the drug aggravates such conditions.' Aspirin in doses of between 75 and 150 mg a day is taken by nearly all those above 35 in north India, said Prof Gupta. 'This is mainly to decrease the chances of cardiac arrests, strokes in the brain and thrombosis in the veins. Aspirin helps in blood platelate aggregation.' In a bid to retain the advantage the Disprin brand name has, Reckitt Benckiser has retained the name in its new product, which is already available in Calcutta's drug stores. But the price has been increased to Re 1 per tablet. Dispirin Plus now falls in the paracetamol group of analgesics. 'We, however, have a pure aspirin preparation called Colsprin for low disaster management,' said the company's regional sales manager J.N. Bhowmik. 'This formulation is prescribed at 100 mg a day as an anti-coagulant.' He admitted that this role was better played by Disprin. 'Though it was stronger, doctors used to prescribe half a tablet a day as an anti-clotting agent.' Disprin users, however, need not fear, say doctors. There are equally good aspirin formulations, like Ecosprin or Loprin, which can do the job, they say. Companies like Unisearch, the makers of Loprin, are now selling the tablet at 28 paise each, following the price control order. Earlier, the price of a tablet was 90 paise.