Why Expired Products Cannot Be Prosecuted
The agency, he said, only prosecutes those who produce and deal in fake and counterfeit drugs and for such prosecution, NAFDAC spends over N500 million.
Dr. Orhii, who spoke during a television programme monitored by our correspondent, also revealed that the agency does not intend to outrightly ban the sales and consumption of locally brewed gin, popularly called ogogoro, but that NAFDAC seeks to develop the “industry” and be able to monitor the sector.
The agency had earlier banned the sale and consumption of the local gin in some areas after people died from drinking it.
READ ALSO: SEE Complete Ogogoro Death Toll
Even though NAFDAC has prosecutoral powers, he said where a company is found to deal with expired products, it is shut down for the company to adhere to standards and all the requirements before it re-opens.
“There are punitive measures. We are even not to prosecute such companies but to make sure that you comply with good manufacturing practices…we do administrative charges, we shut the place down and make sure they comply with all the standard procedures.
“Once you have done that, and we are sure that it is done, we reopen the place,”he said.
Dr. Orhii however lamented that incidents of expired products have continued to increase in the country.
“Every year, we spend more than N500 million prosecuting cases. But we try to prosecute when there is massive fraud involved especially where counterfeit medicine is involved,” he added.
Orhii said though expired products are harmful, they are not as dangerous as counterfeit drugs and that the agency uses its discretion just to cut down on funds for prosecution.
On local gin, he said: “we are going to require that all those who manufacture local gin should be registered with NAFDAC. And once you apply the register, you trigger the process of evaluation; we will send our officers to the site where you want to manufacture the products, we look at your raw materials, we look at the environment where you want to manufacture and approve it.”
READ ALSO: OOU Student Warns On The Danger Of “Ogogoro”
He said the agency was already going from state to state looking for these people and relating with them.
“We do not want to kill the local gin industry and give advantage to the imported ones, but we want the local gin to be healthy for the consumers. There must be something that is contaminating them.
“I have gone to villages to see people who take this ogogoro and you will be shocked to see how a human depreciates to nothingness; people who cannot even contribute anything to their families.”
He said an enlightenment campaign would be embarked upon using traditional and religious leaders to discourage some acts in the production and distribution of local gin in the country.
Dr. Orhii, who spoke during a television programme monitored by our correspondent, also revealed that the agency does not intend to outrightly ban the sales and consumption of locally brewed gin, popularly called ogogoro, but that NAFDAC seeks to develop the “industry” and be able to monitor the sector.
The agency had earlier banned the sale and consumption of the local gin in some areas after people died from drinking it.
READ ALSO: SEE Complete Ogogoro Death Toll
Even though NAFDAC has prosecutoral powers, he said where a company is found to deal with expired products, it is shut down for the company to adhere to standards and all the requirements before it re-opens.
“There are punitive measures. We are even not to prosecute such companies but to make sure that you comply with good manufacturing practices…we do administrative charges, we shut the place down and make sure they comply with all the standard procedures.
“Once you have done that, and we are sure that it is done, we reopen the place,”he said.
Dr. Orhii however lamented that incidents of expired products have continued to increase in the country.
“Every year, we spend more than N500 million prosecuting cases. But we try to prosecute when there is massive fraud involved especially where counterfeit medicine is involved,” he added.
Orhii said though expired products are harmful, they are not as dangerous as counterfeit drugs and that the agency uses its discretion just to cut down on funds for prosecution.
On local gin, he said: “we are going to require that all those who manufacture local gin should be registered with NAFDAC. And once you apply the register, you trigger the process of evaluation; we will send our officers to the site where you want to manufacture the products, we look at your raw materials, we look at the environment where you want to manufacture and approve it.”
READ ALSO: OOU Student Warns On The Danger Of “Ogogoro”
He said the agency was already going from state to state looking for these people and relating with them.
“We do not want to kill the local gin industry and give advantage to the imported ones, but we want the local gin to be healthy for the consumers. There must be something that is contaminating them.
“I have gone to villages to see people who take this ogogoro and you will be shocked to see how a human depreciates to nothingness; people who cannot even contribute anything to their families.”
He said an enlightenment campaign would be embarked upon using traditional and religious leaders to discourage some acts in the production and distribution of local gin in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment