NAFDAC fumes at drug hawking

From: Femi  Oyelola, Kaduna

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said that the menace of drug hawking poses serious challenges to Healthcare Delivery System in the country and this underscores NAFDAC’s resolute determination to eradicate the illicit trade.

The  Director-General of   the  Agency  Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye asserted this during the North-West Zone NAFDAC Media Sensitization Workshop On Dangers Of Drug Hawking and Ripening Of Fruits with Calcium Carbide organized for Association Of Nigeria  Health Journalists, in Kaduna.

According to her Drug Hawkers are knowingly or unknowingly merchants of death who expose essential and life-saving medicines to the vagaries of inclement weather which degrade the active ingredients of the medicine and turn them into poisons thus endangering human lives.

“Most of the drugs sold by the illiterate and semi-literate Drug Hawkers are counterfeit, substandard or expired, and therefore do not meet the quality, safety, and efficacy requirement of regulated medicines.

“Prescription drugs are also sold by the itinerant Drug Hawkers who also consult, recommend and prescribe medicines to their gullible “patients”.

“Drug Hawkers are also the distributors and Suppliers of narcotic medicines to criminal networks such as Armed Bandits, Insurgents, Kidnappers, and Armed Robbers. Drug Hawkers constitute a serious threat to our national security.

“Drugs are sensitive life-saving commodities which should not be sold on the streets/motor parks or open markets just like any other article of trade. I wish to warn you that any Drug Hawker arrested by NAFDAC will be prosecuted, and will face a jail term, and our Enforcement Officers are currently carrying out synchronized nationwide operations. No offender will be spared from facing the full wrath of the Law. In this regard, we solicit the cooperation and support of all other Law Enforcement Agencies, Nigerian Journalists, and well-meaning Nigerians in ridding the country of this harmful and shameful practice,” she appealed.

The  NAFDAC  Director   General Shehe describes the ripening of fruits with carbides, as another public challenge facing Nigeria today, explaining that the agency has deployed a multifaceted approach to tackle the menace.