…Say, ‘It hurts nation’s health’
…Decry open display of unregulated, uncertified concoctions
…Urge NAFDAC, others to wield the stick
The preponderance of free advertisement of drugs and all manner of concoctions on social media has been described as a threat to nation’s health.
Some medical experts who spoke with BusinessDay suggested that urgent steps must be taken by relevant authorities to halt the dangerous trend.
They also raised concerns over the wanton display of unregulated concoctions in the open places across the country.
Speaking with our correspondent in Port Harcourt, Rivers State recently, Victor Dayonye Dapper, a professor of Human Physiology at the University of Port Harcourt (Uniport), said that he was saddened by the menace of adverts on social media where everybody now seems to be an authority on health.
Dapper said that he was particularly concerned that such adverts and claims on cures for ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, fibroid, and prostrate cancer seem to create more doom than cure by creating confusion in the populace on what to believe and who is right.
“Every page on social media brings up a very prominent Nigerian who would be heard condemning the pharmaceutical industry for allegedly hiding the real cures so as to push their drugs that would allegedly kill the populace. Many Nigerians say this sounds scary but these adverts sound so audacious and authoritative in condemning doctors and pharmacists, claiming the advertisers alone were the right practitioners with magic drugs and concoctions to eradicate one disease or the other,” he said.
The professor, who was recently decorated and inducted as Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Medicine (NAMed), advised government regulatory agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to intervene in the growing menace.
“Yes, I admit that citizens are growing worried that they see faces of very important persons and leaders broadcasting messages condemning doctors and pharmaceutical companies. Some even claim that pharmacists attempted to kill medical doctors that tried to give correct prescription to protect the phantom industry, as they claimed,” he said.
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He however, sounded it clear that fighting the social media advertisers is not the duty of the Academy but that of the regulatory agencies.
“There are rules on advertisement of medical products and rules of verification. This is a growing menace and I as a person condemn it,” he further said.
He admitted that the Academy can give counsel to the appropriate agencies to act quickly to safeguard the integrity of the medical practice.
A Pharmacist, who work with a federal health institution in Lagos, blamed what he described as “a permissive society” for the “abuse of everything.”
The pharmacist said: “Ours has become a permissive society where anything goes and anybody can just do anything and get away with it. People now go on the social media and make all manner of health claims. Nobody calls them to order. I can tell you for free that many people are dying slow deaths by using the so-called cure-all remedies that are being advertised and sold in the street corners all over the place.”
According to him, “Nowadays, such bizarre advertorials are not just on social media, they are on radio stations and television channels. You hear people claim to have cure for everything and they give their addresses. I think that NAFDAC has a lot of work to do, and I also think that the agency is overwhelmed.”
A private clinic owner in Owerri, Imo State, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he believed it was a reflection of the level of ignorance and poverty in the country.
“People are simply reacting to the times we are in. There is serious poverty in our country to the extent that many people cannot afford hospital bills no matter how small. Our clinics are almost empty. So, they turn to those people that advertise concoctions and such stuffs. But they do not know it is a slow journey to death. Small money, yes, but at a huge cost to their lives. If people knew all these, many would not be falling victim. That’s why I said it is a combination of ignorance and poverty,” the medical doctor said.
