The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, PCN, on Thursday, said that it has sealed over five hundred and seventy-one (571) premises in Bauchi State.
The leadership of the association who made this known while briefing newsmen at the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Bauchi council said that 37 pharmacists, 144 patent medicine shops and 390 illegal medicine shops were sealed.
The Director Enforcement Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Stephen Esumobi, said that “PCN is the Federal government parastatals charged with the responsibility of regulating and controlling the education, training and practice of pharmacy in all its aspects and ramifications in line with the pharmacy council of Nigeria establishment act 2022”
He said “For medicine to deliver desired therapeutic outcomes, it is important that they remain safe, effective of good quality throughout their life”
“One of the factors that affects stability and therapeutic benefits of medicine is good storage facilities with appropriate temperature and humidity”
He said that poor-quality medicines have been shown in several studies to be responsible for a large percentage of cases of treatment failures and avoidable deaths.
“In 2022 the PCN enforcement team visited Bauchi State and some medicine outlets were sealed for operating in breach of our laws and regulations. Adding that the council took steps to correct anomalies observed in those premises”
“Other breaches committed by owners of pharmaceutical premises include operating without registration and non renewal of premises certificates, poor documentation, patent medicine vendors stocking medicine outside the approved drug list and carrying out clinical services, wholesalers engaging in retail, pharmacist operating without a superintendent pharmacist”
According to Esumobi: “Illegal medicine dealers were also found to engage in the sale of large quantities of substances of abuse to members of the Public, especially within the state capital thus aggravating the social and the security challenges emanating from the illicit use of these medicines” he stressed.
The Director Enforcement Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Pharm. Stephen Esumobi said that the state and zonal offices of the PCN have been directed to continue to monitor all the pharmaceutical premises within the state to ensure that they operate in line with the laws and regulations.
