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  • NAFDAC wants more rehabilitation centres for drug addicts

     

    By Mustapha Sumaila

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has called for establishment of more rehabilitation centres to cater for drug addicts in the country.

    The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

    Adeyeye explained that Nigeria had only 10 rehabilitation centres, which was grossly inadequate to rehabilitate drug addicts across the country.

    She said that there was the need for the government to provide more centres to take care of drug addicts, especially affected youths.

    Adeyeye said at least, 10 centres should be built in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.

    The director-general described the rising cases of abuse of controlled drugs such as tramadol and codeine as unfortunate.

    Adeyeye said that the most commonly abused drugs in the country were tramadol and codeine.

    The NAFDAC boss described tramadol as a synthetic opioid analgesic used to treat moderate to severe pain and is the most abused medicine among addicts.

    She added that its consumption had no effects on the respiratory system but an overdose causes arrhythmias, cramps, coma and death.

    “In Nigeria, it is regulated as the 50 and 100mg dosage strengths but very high dosage forms of between 200 and 225mg have infiltrated the market.

    “There is also noticeable increase in smuggling of tramadol capsules. Tramadol use disorder is associated with physical withdrawal symptoms and compulsive behaviour,’’ she explained.

    Adeyeye attributed disobedience to the laws of the land to the rising cases of drug abuse.

    According to her, smuggling substances of abuse through the country’s porous sea and land borders as well as corruption and compromises at the point of entries are factors responsible for high cases of drug abuse in the country.

    The director-general noted that she had reformed the agency within the short period she assumed duty to ensure the safety of lives. (NAN)
    Edited by Vivian Emoni/Ese E. Ekama

     

  • NAFDAC enjoins restaurant operators to replace utensils

    NAFDAC enjoins restaurant operators to replace utensils

    By Muhammad Nasir Bashir
    The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has advised restaurant owners and other food vendors to ensure periodic replacement of their utensils.

    The agency’s Coordinator in Jigawa, Mr Abdulsalam Lawal, gave the advice during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Tuesday.

    Lawal also called on them to keep their premises in hygienic condition to avoid contamination.
    He added that restaurant operators should also ensure that they carry out periodic medical check on their food handlers, adding “they should also ensure that food handlers used aprons, head gears and mouth masks while on duty’’.

    This, the coordinator said, would prevent hair, cough or sneeze from entering into the food they serve customers.
    Besides, he urged them to cut their nails to the lowest level, so that it will not harbour germs which could easily be transferred into food.

    Lawal said the agency periodically embarks on unscheduled inspections to enforce regulations and sanction erring restaurant owners.

    He assured that the agency would not relent in its efforts to ensure that food from restaurants is safe and clean for public consumption. (NAN)
    Edited by Fela Fashoro/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

  • Counterfeit drugs: Reps urge NAFDAC to enforce MAS to protect Nigerians

    By EricJames Ochigbo
    House of Representatives has urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to ensure that the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) is re-activated and applied to all drugs purchased in Nigeria.

    The house also urged Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to ensure implementation.

    The green chambers urged NAFDAC to, as a matter of urgency, begin a nationwide publicity on MAS to enlighten the public.

    The House took the decisions following unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Babajimi Benson (APC-Lagos) during plenary session on Tuesday.

    Moving the motion earlier, Babajimi said that fake drugs undermined every aspect of medical treatment and was a major cause of death.

    He said that adulteration and counterfeiting of drugs negatively affect wellbeing.

    Babajimi added that trade in illicit drugs had escalated in Nigeria in recent times, noting that NAFDAC initiated MAS in 2010 to combat counterfeit drugs.

    The lawmaker explained that MAS allowed consumers to send by text message, an authentication code to a NAFDAC approved designated number to confirm the genuineness of purchased drugs.

    According to him, MAS allows consumers seeking to buy genuine drugs to scratch a coating on the packaging of the drug to reveal a unique 12 or 13 digit PIN.

    He explained that the code could be sent by Short Message Service (SMS) text to a short code of 38353 and get response within seconds indicating if the drug was genuine or potentially fake or stolen.

    The lawmaker added that there had been less campaign on the authentication process in recent times and that most over the counter drugs and infant syrups do not have the unique 12 or 13 digit PIN.

    He urged NAFDAC and SON to be up and doing in the task of educating the public on
    how to identify fake and counterfeit drugs, stressing that sensitisation was key.

    The Speaker of the House, Mr Yakubu Dogara, mandated the Committee on Health Care Services to ensure compliance (NAN)
    EOO/JEO/HA
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    Edited by Janefrances Oraka/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

    News Agency of Nigeria
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    NAN

  • NAFDAC to hold urgent forum on Mobile Authentication Service

    The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it will hold an urgent stakeholders forum to present the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) Guidelines to the public in line with a directive from the House of Representatives.

    The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known in a statement she personally signed in Abuja on Friday.

    Adeyeye disclosed that the forum will be held this month in conjunction with Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

    “I am pleased to note the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives’ concern about Substandard and Falsified medicines (SF), and the urge to use Mobile Authentication Scheme (MAS) to detect counterfeit medicines.

    “The MAS was deployed by NAFDAC in 2010 as an anti-counterfeiting tool to curb the menace of substandard and falsified medical products.

    “The medicines identified for implementation and enforcement in the first stage of the MAS scheme are antimalarials and antibacterials,” she said.

    The NAFDAC boss stated that these classes of medicines were selected as a result of high incidence of counterfeiting and the adverse impact on public health.

    She added that the scheme was not fully implemented by all relevant stakeholders despite several enforcement deadlines issued by NAFDAC for compliance.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the House of Representatives directed the NAFDAC to enforce the MAS on all drugs in the country.

    The House also mandated its Committee on Health Care Services to liaise with the agency to ensure public enlightenment and total compliance to the service.

    MAS allows customers to identify the genuineness of products, especially drugs, by scratching a thin coating of a unique 12-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN), which is then sent via SMS to 38353 code for a quick feedback within seconds.

    The resolution followed a motion on the rising cases of fake drugs in the country by Babajimi Benson (APC-Lagos).

    Benson, in a lead debate, decried the growing incidences of drug adulteration and counterfeiting, which he said had taken an alarming dimension due to non-compliance to MAS.

    “The World Health Organisation said 17 per cent of all drugs in Nigeria are fake, which undermine all aspects of medical treatment and healthcare delivery which were major causes of suffering and deaths,” Benson said. (NAN)

  • Nafdac begin moves to enforce Mobile Authentication Scheme (MAS) on drug products

    The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Moji Adeyeye has announced plans to re-energise and enforce Mobile Authentication Scheme (MAS) to detect counterfeit medicines.

    Prof. Adeyeye said in statement made available to Flowerbud News today in Abuja that MAS, which was first deployed by NAFDAC in 2010, “is an anticounterfeiting tool to curb the menace of substandard and falsified medical products”.

    Prof. Adeyeye commended Hon. Dogara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives for his concern about Substandard and Falsified medicines (SF) and the recent directive of the House for NAFDAC to enforce the use Mobile Authentication Scheme (MAS) to detect counterfeit medicines.

    The NAFDAC Boss stated that “the medicines identified for implementation and enforcement in the first stage of the MAS scheme are antimalarials and antibacterials.

    “These classes of medicines are selected as a result of high incidence of counterfeiting and the impact on public health. However, The scheme was not fully implemented by all relevant stakeholders despite several enforcement deadlines issued by NAFDAC for compliance.

    “The position of the members of House of Representative that Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC) should ensure implementation of MAS scheme is ultra vires. This is because it is outside the purview of these sister agencies to implement the use of MAS on NAFDAC regulated products.

    “The products involved in MAS Scheme are products already registered by NAFDAC and which the Agency (following its mandate) has decided to control the authenticity and distribution.

    “However, in an effort to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of MAS and also maintain a robust database for evidence-based decision-making, NAFDAC is collaborating with Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to monitor a limited number of essential medicines.

    “For the selected drugs, NAFDAC and CHAI are organizing a stakeholders meeting in July 2018 to present the MAS Guidelines to the public. The Nationwide campaign on MAS implementation and enforcement is to commence after the presentation of the guidelines to the public.

    “The suggestion by the Honourable Speaker to use MAS for all drugs regulated by NAFDAC is noble, and in line with the Agency’s ultimate agenda. However, a lot of staffing and funding will be needed for full implementation.

    “The limited authentication that is being undertaken currently for the two classes of drugs by NAFDAC sometimes result in overwhelming calls to the drug information specialists at NAFDAC secretariat. Considering the fact that NAFDAC has over 11,000 registered drug products, the manpower that will be needed to authenticate all drugs will be enormous.

    “In addition, the information technology unit of NAFDAC will also need to network with NAFDAC offices in the 36 States in all six geographical zones and Abuja. Therefore, NAFDAC will need to expand the drug information center with higher bandwidths and computers. I will implore the National Assembly to fund NAFDAC to achieve this noble and necessary cause that the Honourable Speaker had suggested.

    “All manufacturers will also need to retrofit their labeling lines in order to accommodate the MAS codes. This is attainable except that the manufacturers will need a tax break in order to accommodate these changes, knowing that, in Nigeria, all manufacturing equipment pieces, all raw materials are imported.

    “Therefore I will urge the Honourable Speaker to facilitate tax break for manufacturers. This will improve trade and encourage more local manufacturing, knowing the importance of safeguarding the health of the public.

    Fb News

  • NAFDAC to effect measures against influx of unregistered alcohol–DG

    NAFDAC to effect measures against influx of unregistered alcohol–DG

    By Mustapha Sumaila

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it will put necessary measures in place to control influx of unregistered alcohol drinks in Nigerian markets.

    The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, stated this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.

    “Efforts are being made by NAFDAC to control such products by holding back on further registration of alcohol in such packaging,’’ she said.

    Adeyeye explained that this was part of her submissions at the just concluded 41st session of Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC) in Rome, Italy.

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body with over 180 members, within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    It was to protect the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade and promotes coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

    “Alcohol is available in sachets in Nigeria and these products are dangerous to children due to ease of accessibility.

    “Harmful use of alcohol is a major obstacle to sustainable development. It has an impact on the health and well-being of the drinkers and their friends, family, colleagues.

    “And it can damage the social and economic fabric of the society.”

    The NAFDAC boss stated that harmful use of alcohol was a causal factor in more than 200 diseases and injury conditions affecting maternal health and child development.

    According to her, it is also the cause of some non-communicable diseases and conditions such as cancer, adding that a drunkard could easily turn violence on road and cause accident.

    The NAFDAC boss explained that there was the tendency for drunkard to engenge in unprotected sexual activities which could predispose him or her to infectious diseases such as TB and HIV/AIDS.

    Adeyeye described Codex Alimentarius as a collection of internationally adopted food standards and related texts presented in a uniform manner.

    She said that these food standards and related texts were aimed at protecting consumers’ health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.

    “This is consistent with the mandate of NAFDAC which include; to regulate and control importation, exportation, manufacture, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food among others. (NAN)
    Edited by Dada Ahmed

  • NAFDAC to effect measures against influx of unregistered alcohol–DG

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it will put necessary measures in place to control influx of unregistered alcohol drinks in Nigerian markets.

    The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, stated this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.

    “Efforts are being made by NAFDAC to control such products by holding back on further registration of alcohol in such packaging,’’ she said.

    Adeyeye explained that this was part of her submissions at the just concluded 41st session of Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC) in Rome, Italy.

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body with over 180 members, within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    It was to protect the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade and promotes coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

    “Alcohol is available in sachets in Nigeria and these products are dangerous to children due to ease of accessibility.

    “Harmful use of alcohol is a major obstacle to sustainable development. It has an impact on the health and well-being of the drinkers and their friends, family, colleagues.

    “And it can damage the social and economic fabric of the society.”

    The NAFDAC boss stated that harmful use of alcohol was a causal factor in more than 200 diseases and injury conditions affecting maternal health and child development.

    According to her, it is also the cause of some non-communicable diseases and conditions such as cancer, adding that a drunkard could easily turn violence on road and cause accident.

    The NAFDAC boss explained that there was the tendency for drunkard to engenge in unprotected sexual activities which could predispose him or her to infectious diseases such as TB and HIV/AIDS.

    Adeyeye described Codex Alimentarius as a collection of internationally adopted food standards and related texts presented in a uniform manner.

    She said that these food standards and related texts were aimed at protecting consumers’ health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.

    “This is consistent with the mandate of NAFDAC which include; to regulate and control importation, exportation, manufacture, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food among others.

  • Nafdac commences nationwide action against ripening fruit with carbide

    Nafdac commences nationwide action against ripening fruit with carbide

    By Rukky Adedeji

    Nafdac Boss, Prof. Moji Adeyeye has directed a nationwide operation  to tackle the menace of fruit ripening with calcium carbide and other dangerous chemicals.

    Flowerbudnews reports that the directive was contained in statement by Prof Adeyeye today in Abuja where she noted that the directive became imperative due to the increasing dangerous practice of sale and consumption of fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide.

    “farmers, traders and the general public that ripening fruits with calcium carbide is very dangerous to health and is a criminal offence, She stated.

    The Director-General said that the nationwide operation would help Nafdac against the “activities of unscrupulous traders involved in illegal artificial ripening of fruits using hazardous chemicals such as calcium carbide’’.

    Prof. Adeyeye said that anyone caught engaging in the illegal practice of ripening fruits with hazardous chemicals would henceforth be prosecuted.

    She advised the public to “examine fruits carefully to select the right fruit by observing the variation of colour.

    “If the fruit that you buy is too good among others in “near perfect” ripening color, it may have been ripened with calcium carbide’’, she added.

    Prof. Adeyeye noted that fruits were important for health as “it provides the body with micronutrients that improve immunity and prevent diseases among other benefits.

    “Fruit ripening is a unique aspect of plant development, which makes the fruit edible, softer, sweeter, more palatable, nutritious and attractive.

    “However, the consumption of fruits such as mango, banana, plantain, guava, orange, grape, etc or any other fruits ripened with calcium carbide is dangerous to health,, the Nafdac DG stated.

    She counselled that generally “fruits should be washed thoroughly under running water before consumption’’.

    Prof. Adeyeye urged members of the public to report suspected cases of carbide-ripened fruits to the nearest NAFDAC office or call 09094262773, 09094262772 and 08133630600

     

     

  • NAFDAC nabs kingpin over supply of fake insecticides

    NAFDAC nabs kingpin over supply of fake insecticides

    By Mustapha Sumaila

    The National Agency for Food and Drug administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it arrested a kingpin behind the supply of fake insecticides in Port Harcourt.

    The NAFDAC’s Public Relations Officer, South Zone, Mr Cyril Monye, announced this in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

    Monye explained that one Ebuka Ugwuanyi was arrested while 110 cartons of the product worth more than two million naira were recovered.

    He said that the Rivers office of NAFDAC recorded the milestone, after a successful raid and mop up of fake ‘Read A Dream’ insecticide in Port Harcourt.

    According to him, the fake insecticide is a clone of the original but with questionable active
    ingredients which is foamy and watery.

    Monye said that the original product was imported and registered by CU-BAS INT’L (NIG) LTD.

    “The raid was sequel to a tip off which made NAFDAC officials to swing into action, visiting some part of
    Port Harcourt metropolis including Mile 1 Market, Diobu.

    “One of the arrested hawkers along Aba Road lead NAFDAC officials to a residential building at No. 38 Iguruta Road, Rumukurushi, Port Harcourt.

    “That was where a major breakthrough was made and 110 cartons of the product, worth more than two million naira were recovered in a two-bedroom apartment.

    He said they were recovered from the last floor of a two-storey building in custody of one Miss Peace Miller.

    He said that the fake product had been evacuated to NAFDAC Zonal office at Woji Road in GRA Phase II, Port Harcourt. (NAN)