For engaging in the sale of medicines with disregard to laid down guidelines, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed off 340 pharmaceutical premises in Edo State.
The registrar of PCN, Mr Elijah Mohammed who disclosed this yesterday in Benin at a press conference reiterated the determination of the association to descend heavily on those who run foul of the guidelines put in place by PCN.
Represented by Mr Stephen Esumobi, the director of enforcement, Mohammed said that out of the 340 premises sealed off,
84 comprised of pharmacies while the remaining 256 are patent medicines vendors shops and 22 compliance directives were issued to premises for engaging in various offences such as poor sanitary conditions, poor documentation and non-display of premises and pharmacists annual licenses,
He disclosed that a total of 771 pharmaceutical premises made up of 431 patent and proprietary medicines vendors shops and 340 pharmacies were visited during the exercise.
The registrar advised Nigerians to source their medicines from registered and currently licensed pharmacists and over the counter medicines from registered patent and proprietary medicines vendors shops as drugs sold in unregistered outlets cannot be guaranteed to be genuine due to the effect of poor handling and exposure to environmental factors that degrade them.
Mohammed said: “Facilities that are not subjected to regulatory control cannot be guaranteed to offer acceptable services to the public and integrity of medicines in such facilities cannot also be guaranteed to be of the same quality, efficacy and safety as produced by the manufacturers.”
He added that the weeklong exercise was mostly in the state capital of Benin and Edo Central senatorial district, noting that it was cause for serious concern as most of the PMV visited were either unregistered or registered but operating beyond their approved scope.
The registrar lamented: “Many of them sell medicines beyond their approved drug list. Since they do not have the requisite knowledge to handle ethical medicines and substances of abuse, the health of members of the public who patronize them is at risk.”
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