It's Bye Bye to Ignorance
By Patience Otuma
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Campaign against fake drugs shifts emphasis to the education of the public to be able to distinguish between fake and genuine pharmaceutical products
The days of ignorance over purchase of pharmaceutical drugs are over. Apart from the reports of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administrations and Control, NAFDAC, in enlightening the public, private association are also actively involved in sensitising the public on the purchase of genuine drugs.
Recently, the Nigeria Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists, NAHAP, at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, held a one-day seminar in Lagos to raise the public consciousness on purchase and use of genuine pharmaceutical drugs. Comfort Okundaye, chairman, Nigerian Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists, NAHAP, said in her opening speech that the event would enable Nigerians to identify genuine drugs.
In a paper titled "Effect of Counterfeit and Fake Drugs on Nigeria Health and Economy," Olaitan Eseigbe, a pharmacist said that the problem of fake and counterfeit drugs was real and constitutes a major threat to the health and safety of the Nigerians who use drugs and regulated products on a daily basis. She said there were a lot of fake and counterfeit drugs in the Nigerian market. This is very dangerous to the public and as a result, there must be enlightenment campaigns to create awareness on the need for people to watch out for fake drugs.
Evelyn Brambifa, a marketing manager, spoke from the marketing point of view. She said more publicity has to be done in order to educate members of the public to avoid fake and counterfeit drugs that have flooded the market. This is because they need to know how to identify wrong labeling of quantity and weight of active ingredients in drugs like 100 milligramme of ampicillin capsules falsely labelled as 250 millgramme.
Brambifa said that the government should do something about the greedy importers of pharmaceutical products and the regulatory lapses through which these fake and counterfeit drugs enter the country.
According to her if this tempo of awareness is sustained, the end of the days of ignorance over the purchase of fake and counterfeit drugs would be imminent.
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