From Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki
The National Agency for Food And Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised alarm over the dangerous practice of drug hawking as well as the selling and consumption of fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide in the South East.
The agency calls on media practitioners to join the campaign and sensitization against the menace, noting that it poses serious danger to healthy living.
NAFDAC Director-General Prof Mojisola Adeyeye made the call at Awka Anambra State on Tuesday during the South-East Zone NAFDAC Media Sensitization Workshop on the Dangers of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with Calcium Carbide.
She alleged that drug hawkers are the major Distributors and Suppliers of narcotic medicines to criminal networks such as armed robbers, bandits, insurgents and kidnappers.
She stated that most of the drugs sold by the illiterate and semi-literate drug hawkers are counterfeit, substandard or expired, and therefore do not meet the quality, safety and efficacy requirement of regulated medicines, stressing that drug hawkers constitute a serious threat to our national security.
“The menace of drug hawking poses a serious challenge to the healthcare delivery system in the country and this underscored NAFDAC’s resolute determination to totally eradicate the illicit trade.
“Many drug hawkers are knowingly or unknowingly merchants of death who expose essential and life-saving medicines to the vagaries of inclement weather which degrade the active ingredients of the medicine and turn them into poisons thus endangering human lives.
“NAFDAC has noticed the dangerous practice of sale and consumption of fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide as well as illegal hawking of drugs in the open market.
“Drug hawkers are also the major distributors and suppliers of narcotic medicines to criminal networks such as armed bandits, insurgents, kidnappers and armed robbers. Drug Hawkers constitute a serious threat to our national security.
“Most of the drugs sold by the illiterate and semi-literate drug hawkers are counterfeit, substandard or expired, and therefore do not meet the quality, safety and efficacy requirement of regulated medicines”
The NAFDAC Director -General who was represented by the agency’s Director of Evaluation and Research, Dr Leonard Omokpariola, said the flag–off of the sensitization workshop was a fulfilment of her promise to sustain and strengthen NAFDAC’s existing collaboration with the Association of Health Journalists in Nigeria towards mobilizing, educating, sensitizing, and conscientizing Nigerian Journalists to play a frontline role in their concerted efforts to eradicate the menace of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with Calcium Carbide in Nigeria.
She also advised the public not to buy dangerous non-retailed packed items from the market to prevent the risk of taking contaminated, substandard, expired and adulterated food or food fraud with grave health implications.
