The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has stated that fake drugs and drug abuse are a national pandemic that needs deliberate and sustained efforts of the government and citizens to control.
The south-west zonal director of NAFDAC, Mrs Roseline Ajayi, made this known on Tuesday in Ibadan while delivering the lecture titled ‘The menace of fake drugs and drug abuse in Nigeria’, in commemoration of the four-day 33rd anniversary of the Resurrection Morning Star Society of the Chapel of the Resurrection, University of Ibadan.
In the course of her lecture, Ajayi spoke extensively on fake drugs, counterfeit medicines, substandard medicines, falsified medicines, controlled drugs, drug diversion, drug abuse, and other related issues, and how they impact the economy, the health system, the family system, and society generally.
While quoting saddening statistics of cases of counterfeit drugs and substandard products seizure and destruction by the agency, worth billions of naira, she stressed that the consequences of fake drugs and drug abuse in Nigeria are far-reaching.
“The economic burden of fake drugs on the healthcare system is substantial, with millions of naira spent on treating patients who have fallen victim to these counterfeit products,” she said.
According to her, the negative consequences of drug abuse include drug addiction and dependence, poor judgment, unsafe sexual activity, illness and death, mental health disorders and organ damage, and changes in school/work performance, among others. She added that these consequences undermine efforts to deepen socio-economic development and are associated with crime and lawlessness.
She listed some of the drugs and substances abused by Nigerians, especially young people and youths, adding, “Because of our peculiarity, most of these drugs are banned in Nigeria, but they are not banned in most countries.”
Ajayi extensively explained the role of NADFAC and the government in controlling the production, exportation, and importation of drugs and other related products, as while as their roles in minimising the proliferation of fake drugs and substance abuse in the country.
She, however, added that NAFDAC and the government cannot do it alone. In light of this, she explained the roles families, teachers, religious bodies and centres, drug manufacturers and importers, and the younger generation have to play in controlling fake drugs and substance abuse in the country.
The president of the Resurrection Morning Star Society, Professor Olabode Lucas, commended the Federal Government and NAFDAC for their efforts towards controlling the proliferation of fake drugs in the country.
Professor Lucas lamented that fake and substandard drugs are a threat to the future of Nigeria and that the influx and use of these drugs have led to many deaths.
He said that sometimes some of the medications people use for simple ailments do not work; rather, they have a negative effect on the body, harming vital organs in the process.
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The chairman of the occasion, Professor Fola Lasebikan of the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, stressed that the issue of fake drugs and substance abuse is a pandemic that goes beyond the medical realm to social, legal, and spiritual realms and that prayers are needed to deliver people, especially young people and adolescents, who indulge in them.
He stated that the consequences of drug abuse a severe to the extent that, according to him, most people in psychiatric wards are admitted because of drug and substance abuse.
Professor Lasebikan stressed that every Nigerian should be a NAFDAC “soldier” and help in the fight against fake drugs and drug abuse in society.
Answering questions from the audience, the NAFDAC southwest boss revealed that Nigerian products are safer compared to most products produced abroad because they are easier to inspect and control.
She concluded her lecture by saying, “As we freely discuss these issues, we are being equipped with knowledge to fight against them, for knowledge is power.”
Present at the event were the chaplain of the Chapel of the Resurrection, University of Ibadan; some notable professors of the university; and some members of the Resurrection Morning Star Society.
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