There is no gainsaying the fact that food and drugs are germane to the growth and sustenance of human life.
The observation notwithstanding, the importance of having genuine, wholesome products fit for human consumption can never be over-emphasised.
Dr Paul Orhii, the Director-General of National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says that NAFDAC’s mission is hinged on the premise and adds that the agency has done a lot to protect Nigerians from consuming unwholesome products.
Orhii says due to the fact that diseases can disrupt the ability of body organs to function properly, genuine and unadulterated drugs are required to adjust and restore the functions of the body organs.
He particularly notes that counterfeit drugs can destroy the immune system of human beings and expose the victims to diverse preventable diseases.
Concerned citizens say that drug counterfeiting has become a serious source of worry in Nigeria because it has negatively affected the country’s health care delivery, adding that the collective efforts of all Nigerians are required to tackle the menace frontally.
Some observers believe that most of the preventable deaths in the country can be attributed to the ingestion of fake drugs.
Dr Omede Idris, the President of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), describes counterfeit drugs as a menace to the medical practice.
“The integrity of doctors is now being questioned due to persistent illnesses, which prescribed drugs have failed to address,’’ he says, adding: “The fight against fake and sub-standard drugs is one that all medical professionals should be actively involved in.’’
However, the crusade against drug counterfeiting is led by NAFDAC, which was established via Decree No. 15 of 1993 to eradicate the production, sales and consumption of counterfeit medicines and unwholesome food.
Orhii stresses the determination of NAFDAC to stamp out the circulation of fake drugs, unwholesome foods and other substandard products in Nigeria.
He, nonetheless, says that one of the landmark achievements of NAFDAC in recent times was its interception of some counterfeit drugs and substandard products, traceable to some Indian importers in the country.
“We made an official report to our counterpart agency in India and the culprits were arrested,’’ he says.
Besides, Orhii recalls that in March 2011, NAFDAC tracked down some smugglers of fake and harmful regulated products worth N192.5 million through its surveillance of the country’s land borders,.
“The agency intercepted a trailer-load of fake pharmaceutical products made with potassium bromated, valued at N192.5 million, at Seme border.
“Besides, we intercepted another truck loaded with 466 cartons of counterfeit pharmaceutical products worth over N300 million.
“Along the Badagry-Seme border, five trucks, loaded with assorted regulated products valued at about N500 million, were also impounded during our surveillance activities,’’ he says.
Commenting on the machinations of drug counterfeiters, Mr Ben Kine, Director of the NAFDAC Zonal Office in Onitsha, says that the agency in August 2011 confiscated 450 cartons of re-labelled expired drugs worth over N30 million in Onitsha.
Kine says that the re-labelled expired drugs include Cypron, CeneXcream and Beytucem; adding that the consignments were discovered through the intelligence gathering efforts of NAFDAC officials.
He says that the prime suspect later confessed that he bought 900 cartons of the three products and that he had sold several cartons before his arrest.
In a nutshell, Orhii says that the ingestion of fake and adulterated drugs has claimed many lives in Nigeria, regardless of the victims’ social, ethnic and religious background.
He asserts that the fake drugs often mutate and compound the people’s health problems across the country.
Drug counterfeiting has been a major challenge across the country but some areas are particularly notorious for drug faking. Aba, a major city in Abia State, is one of the areas where the sales and circulation of fake drugs is found to be endemic.
Consequently, NAFDAC has been very active in the Aba neighbourhood. The agency confiscated and destroyed fake drugs and other items such as food products, cosmetics, medical devices and chemicals in Aba between 2009 and 2011.
Mr Festus Anumba, the Head of the Aba Special Zone of NAFDAC, says that various unregistered products were seized during the period, adding that the products had to be subjected to scientific scrutiny to ascertain their quality and safety.
He recalls that some of the items were seized in November 2011 during routine surveillance, investigation, raids and inspections of shops, warehouses and factories in Aba markets.
NAFDAC says that it has been able to reduce drug counterfeiting appreciably, attributing its achievements to routine surveillance and investigation activities.
The NAFDAC Director-General says that the agency has acquired the TruScan equipment to carry out on-the-spot-testing of drugs in drug markets, pharmacies and patent medicine shops.
Orhii says that the device has the capability of instantly detecting the genuineness of a drug.
“When I assumed office, I pledged to enhance NAFDAC’s regulatory activities to international standards. In pursuit of the goal, we sought cutting-edge technologies that could be used as veritable tools in our fight against drug counterfeiting.
“This led to the acquisition of the TruScan equipment,” he adds.
Orhii stresses that the equipment was used in a national survey that was conducted to carry out on-the-spot assessment of drug qualities in major cities across the country.
“There is no longer a hiding place for counterfeiters of regulated drugs and food substances in our country, as NAFDAC has introduced series of cutting-edge technology to verify the quality of drugs and food substances,’’ he says.
Orhii says that NAFDAC’s is now using a three-pronged approach in its campaign against fake drugs.
NAFDAC has adopted the use of GSM text messages to verify the authenticity of drugs, while launching the radio frequency identification scheme and acquiring the hand-held TruScan device to carry out on-the-spot assessment of drugs.
Orhii says that as part of the innovation, NAFDAC has acquired mini laboratories and an infrared device to complement existing drug-assessment gadgets.
He particularly notes that NAFDAC has empowered the citizens to track the origin of the drugs or food substances they are buying with the aid of their mobile phones.
He stresses that NAFDAC has directed manufacturers of anti-malaria drugs to start the mobile authentication of their products.
“We also require that by 2012, all essential medicines must be verifiable via SMS so as to safeguard the health of Nigerians,’’ he says, adding that the mobile authentication system was introduced in collaboration with an indigenous pharmaceutical company.
He expatiates that the system involves the use of a scratch-card attached to a drug’s package to enable consumers to text short messages on MTN, Glo and Zain networks, adding that the inquiring consumer will receive an instant response on the genuineness of product or otherwise.
On the TruScan device, Orhii says that it is a portable gadget that could distinguish between genuine and counterfeit medicines within a few seconds or minutes, depending on the nature of the substance under investigation.
The NAFDAC boss recalls that the device was first used by NAFDAC officials in January 2011 during the interception of a consignment of goods suspected to be fake drugs at the NAHCO shed of Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
Re-echoing Orhii’s viewpoint, Mrs Comfort Makanjuola, NAFDAC’s Deputy Director (Ports Inspection Directorate), says that the application of TruScan device has been very helpful in identifying fake or expired drugs, which are capable of endangering the lives of unsuspecting consumers.
She says that the TruScan device has a facility that can instantly recognise about 70 per cent of 18 counterfeit drugs.
Makanjuola recalls that the device was also used in Kebbi State in November 2011 to identify counterfeit and banned drugs worth N2 million.
To tackle the faking of drugs and other regulated products, NAFDAC has evolved a multi-dimensional approach, some of which include the strengthening of international and local collaborations.
Orhii stresses the need for NAFDAC to collaborate with other stakeholders in the war against drug counterfeiting; adding that the agency has been cooperating with other government agencies in the campaign.
“In furtherance of the inter-agency co-operation, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) handed over us a suspect who was intercepted at Seme border post with a large consignment of Lonart DS tablets.
“Besides, the Nigerian Customs Service has been partnering with NAFDAC by sending the manifests of regulated products for our scrutiny before the release of consignments,” he adds.
Orhii also says NAFDAC is now involving the youth in the campaign against fake drugs and products.
The NAFDAC boss says that the agency has involved youths in the fight against fake drugs and products
, stressing that the youths’ input entails information gathering and disclosure of information about sources and producers of counterfeit drugs.
On the challenges facing NAFDAC, Orhii laments that Nigeria has been very lenient with perpetrators of drug counterfeiting, arguing that some countries such as China have zero-tolerance for drug faking as the offence attracts stiffer penalties, including death sentences.
He says that NAFDAC is pushing for a legislation that will prescribe life sentences and assets’ confiscation for convicted drug counterfeiters, expressing hope that the National Assembly will soon pass the bill.
“The Indian parliament has made a law, making drug counterfeiting a criminal offence that is punishable by life imprisonment and confiscation of assets.
“They also instituted a reward system for anybody who gives information that leads to the seizure of fake made-in-India products.
“So, we felt embarrassed that Nigerians, who are at the receiving end, are the most lenient when it comes to punishing offenders.
“When offenders are arrested, prosecuted and convicted; the maximum jail term is 15 years, while a laughable fine of N500, 000 is imposed,” he says.
Orhii bemoans a situation where convicted drug counterfeiters are left off the hook with minimal penalties, adding that it does not aid the fulfillment of NAFDACA’s crusade against drug counterfeiting, which has killed many Nigerians.
He calls for a complete overhaul of NAFDAC laws to enable them to serve as a deterrent to offenders, adding that light jail terms tacitly encourage the activities of fake drugs’ merchants.
“I have also discovered that it is easier for people to transact fake drugs business unlike narcotics, which is a very difficult terrain. That is why NAFDAC will not rest on its oars until the war against fake drugs is won in the country,” Orhii says.
All the same, observers note that the current participatory nature of the crusade against fake drugs has somewhat heightened the chances of winning the war.
Mt Charles Obi, a pharmacist, says that every Nigeria has now realised that he or she has some roles to play in the war against drug trafficking, adding that the emerging awareness is a plus for the campaign.
“However, what is essential now is for NAFDAC to step up its public awareness campaigns, particularly though the media,’’ he says, adding: “Tangible efforts should be made to engender and sustain the citizens’ participation in the campaign via mass mobilisation schemes.’’
This is because observers such as Mr Emmanuel Luka, a businessman, insist the impact of NAFDAC’s activities is somewhat insignificant in the rural areas.
“For instance, the SMS verification method of detecting fake drugs will be of little benefit to the rural dwellers because majority of them cannot even afford a mobile phone, while others cannot read,’’ he says
Luka, therefore, urges NAFDAC to adopt alternative media strategies to reach out to the vast segment of the country’s population living in the rural areas.
“Through such efforts, NAFDAC’s anti-drug counterfeiting campaign will be more all-encompassing, while many areas our country will be freed from the menace of fake drugs,’’ he says.
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Indecent dressing simply means dressing in a way that is likely to shock or offend people. Now what is likely to offend people?
Pats of your body (usually sexual organs that normally should be covered, which for girls should be their breast,