Pharmacy Council Shuts Down 424 Medicine Distribution Outlets
By Onyebuchi Ezigbo
Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 424 business premises across the country for lack of operational conditions including poor storage and sanitation.
As part of efforts to instil sanity in the drug distribution system, PCN said it has enlisted the support of the Nigerian Police, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to enforce regulations in the drug distribution business in Nigeria.
Registrar of PCN, Mr. Elijah Mohammed who gave an update on the activities of the council during a press conference in Abuja, said one of the major factors militating against rational distribution and use of medicines in Nigeria is the existence of unregistered medicines shops across the country.
He said: “A total of 424 premises made up of 99 pharmacies and 32 patent medicine shops were sealed for various offences some of which include operating without registration with PCN, failure to renew premises license, dispensing ethical products without the supervision of a pharmacist, poor storage and sanitary conditions among others while eight pharmacies and patent medicine shops were issued compliance directives.”
Mohammed explained that most of the medicine shops are operated by traders who know nothing about the therapeutic or pharmacokinetic profiles of the medicines they sell to the public.
He said these premises pose serious threat to public health because they have over the years become channels for distributing of medicines whose quality, safety and efficacy have been compromised due to poor storage facilities and handling.
He said the motive behind the operations of most of these illegal medicine shops is profit.
“This has created room for unhealthy acts such as the sale of substances of abuse to criminal elements in the society who carry out their nefarious activities under the influence of drugs.
“Furthermore, it has been found that some of these unregistered medicine dealers sell expired drugs using false labels to conceal actual status of medicines.
“This portends grave danger to the public because some drugs are transformed to harmful products after expiration,” he said.
According to the Registrar, PCN enforcement team has been in FCT since last week to ensure that all premises where medicines are sold fulfil conditions in terms of location, storage facilities, environment, documentation and personnel.
He said at the end of the enforcement exercise, 644 premises comprising 216 pharmacies and 428 patent medicine shops were visited.
Mohammed advised members of the public to purchase their medicines from licensed pharmacies and simple household remedies from licensed patent and propriety medicine’s vendors shop.
PCN is a federal government parastatal charged with the responsibility of regulating and controlling the education, training and practice of pharmacy in all aspects and ramifications as established by Decree 91 of 1992,
