NAFDAC Plans Review Of Extant Laws

THE National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said that plans are on the way to review the current laws bordering on the use of counterfeit drugs and other related products in the country to make offenders face life imprisonment.This was revealed by the Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, in Uyo at a one-day sensitization workshop for NAFDAC shareholders under the theme, 'Adulterated and Substandard Regulated Products: A Fight for All.'The new law, according to him, seeks life jail term and confiscation of assets upon conviction, including the compensation of victims, if products are found to be the proximate cause of death or severe injury on the victim.Represented by the state Director of the agency, Mr. Francis Ifem, Orhii said the agency is currently reviewing the law, which stipulates a fine of N500, 000 or 15 years jail term upon conviction of any offender, to make it serve as a deterrent and be in line with international requirements for the regulation of food, drugs and other related products.The DG stressed that NAFDAC is committed to ensuring that any offence committed by dealers, who are prone to selling counterfeit drugs, would not be bailable upon conviction.Orhii, who described counterfeit drugs as 'those deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled as well as those with wrong and inactive ingredients,' stated that the agency has adopted various strategies including public enlightenment, law reform, national and international collaboration, cutting edge technologies among others to fight the ills.According to the facilitator of the workshop, Mrs. Christabel Okoye, the programme is being carried out nation-wide with all patent medicine dealers brought together and briefed on the ills of counterfeit products.'We have recorded quite a great deal of successes with the medicine dealers forming themselves into task force.'They put on uniforms and go to shops and any shop they visit and see fake drugs, they close the shop and nobody goes there again,' she added.
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