NAFDAC Warns Against Buying Medicine from Street Hawkers, Explains Why

NAFDAC Warns Against Buying Medicine from Street Hawkers, Explains Why

  • Nigerians have been warned to desist from buying drugs from street hawkers across the country to treat sickness
  • The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) gave the warning during a summit on the danger of hawking drugs
  • Dr Leonard Omokpariola (Director, Chemical Evaluation and Research) said drugs subjected to heat are not effective for treating sicknesses

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South-East - The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has warmed Nigerians against patronizing drug hawkers.

Adeyeye, who was represented by Dr. Leonard Omokpariola (Director, Chemical Evaluation and Research) said drugs are essential and life-saving commodities and shouldn’t be hawked in streets and marketplaces.

NAFDAC warns against buying medicine from street hawkers/ Danger of buying drugs from street hawkers
NAFDAC says medicine from street hawkers are not effective Photo Credit: Mokwugwo Solomon
Source: Original

Omokpariola stated this during an exclusive interview with Mokwugwo Solomon, Legit.ng's Regional at the Southeast Zone NAFDAC Media Sensitization Workshop On Dangers of Drug Hawking and Ripening of Fruits with Calcium Carbide.

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He explained that drugs subjected to heat will no longer be effective for treating sicknesses.

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“It is completely an arbitration and very wrong to hawk drugs in streets and marketplaces; because drugs are essential and life-saving commodities.
“Drugs should not be sold as they sell tomatoes and vegetables. Dr*gs require specific storage conditions. So, if you subject drugs to heats and unhealthy conditions, the potency will be degraded, and it will no longer be effective for treatment of ailments.
“The bigger danger about drug hawking is that much of such drugs are fake, substandard and expired. That is why they are hawked I discriminately.”

Speaking further on the danger of ripening fruits with calcium carbide, Omokpariola said such fruits should be avoided because they are cancerous.

“The second part is the use of calcium carbide to ripen fruits. Calcium Carbide is a chemical substance, and it is toxic. When used to ripen fruits, it is capable of breaking down essential minerals and vitamins in fruits. This chemical substance contains phosphorus and accelic which are very toxic to health. Such fruits should be avoided because they are cancerous.

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“So, it is advisable that people should desist from buying and eating fruits ripen with this chemical substance because they are chaff and poisonous.”

Dangerous Ponmo Imported Into Nigeria, NAFDAC Raises Alarm, Reveals Location Of Product

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that according to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), about 120 tons of chemical-laden animal hides and skins fondly called ponmo have been imported into Nigeria.

The director-general of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who made the disclosure recently stated that samples of the harmful product have been taken to the agency's laboratories for testing.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Adekunle Dada avatar

Adekunle Dada (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Adekunle Dada is a trained journalist with over 7 years of working experience. He is also a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a B.Sc. in Mass Communication From Lagos State University, Ojo. Adekunle previously worked at PM News, The Sun, and Within Nigeria where he expressed his journalistic skills with well-researched articles and features. In 2024, Adekunle obtained a certificate in advanced digital reporting from the Google News Initiative. He can be reached via adekunle.dada@corp.legit.ng.