The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has warned operators of illegal medicine outlets against taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to poison the public medicines that do not meet regulations and guidelines.
Addressing reporters in Lagos, PCN Registrar, Elijah Mohammed, said the council understood that drugs were poisons that must be used as directed to avoid their deleterious effects.
Mohammed, who was represented by the council’s Director, Inspection and Monitoring, Anthonia Aruya, said while medicines were expected to be sold in highly-regulated environment, a situation where people engage in sales of medicine without recourse to regulations guiding the practice is highly unacceptable to the Federal Government.
He noted that medicines sold in unregistered outlets could not be guaranteed to have the efficacy, quality and safety as those sold in regulated facility.
Mohammed said though the PCN suspended its enforcement due to the lockdown, it had to resume when the council discovered that illegal medicine sales outlets with attendant unwholesome practice were springing up due to exemption from the lockdown given to the pharmaceutical sector to provide services to the public.
To this effect, Mohammed said the national enforcement team of the PCN had to be in Lagos since August 10, to ensure compliance to the guidance on COVID-19 was monitored, adding that a good number of registered pharmacies complied with the guidelines, while others were advised to do so.
He said at the end of the exercise, a total of 565 premises were visited, with 268 facilities sealed for not registering or renewing their premises as required by the law or infringing on any other provision of the law; while 15 premises were issued compliance directives for lapses that could easily be corrected.
The PCN boss, however, advised the public to look out for pharmacists with annual license and premises certificate, which should be conspicuously displayed or made readily available, as well as the license of the patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) to avoid patronising quacks.
“We are aware of the pandemic that has been ravaging countries globally. The PCN has been taking steps to contribute its quota to the concerted effort to flatten the curve of the pandemic in Nigeria.
‘’Stakeholders are supposed to have necessary training to handle medicine based on the scope of operation they have been licensed tooperate.’’
