Stiffer punishment for fake, counterfeit drug peddlers

It is only a direct experience that can make one appreciate the impact of fake and counterfeit drugs on Nigerians. Such was my lot over a relation who had issues of hypertension and high blood Ppressure. Prescribed drugs which were administered on him turned out to be fake and knocked him out. He was only revived through oxygen infusion and was placed in a special ward, where the family paid through the nose for the number of days he stayed in the hospital to regain consciousness. The effects of the drug lingered on him for close to two years after his discharge. He is yet to be fully back on his feet.

He is lucky to be alive and recuperating. Some victims have had their vital organs damaged, many have died, while those responsible for their pains and deaths smile to the bank, knowing that when caught in the act they may merely get a few years of imprisonment or ridiculous options of fine. When therefore, the director-general (DG) of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the other day, reiterated her call for harsher punishments for peddlers of fake and counterfeit drugs, including recommendation of death penalty for the culprits, she knew what she was saying.

Adeyeye insisted that the current penalties for fake drug peddling are too lenient, compared to the dangers the trade poses to life and public health. “Somebody violated the NAFDAC rule, the medicine can kill somebody, and you give that person five years in jail or N250,000 fine. To me, that’s weak. We’ve got to strengthen or make the penalty very stiff”, she observed. To say the least, the punishment is mere slap on the wrist.

The DG is right. Her call for the death penalty underscores the growing urgency to curb the distribution of fake and counterfeit drugs, which continues to pose grave threat to public health and image of the country abroad. Fake drug peddlers are as dangerous as bandits and terrorists. They can kill to have their way. Their activities constitute serious dangers to the human capital development and by extension, the security of the nation.

Fake and counterfeit drugs are hazardous to health and account for the rising incidents of organ failure and corresponding deaths. The issue with fake drug manufacturers and distributors is that they prey on the innocent and thrive on the vulnerability of users. There is a clear line of difference between deliberate involvement in drugs and the unsuspecting buyer purchasing drugs with the desire to get cured of his ailment. As condemnable as it is, deliberate intake of drugs could be intentional, in response to peer influence or other unusual factors. That is not the same with a case of desperate search to save life and the patients or relations getting into deeper trouble for buying fake drugs.

The volume of manufacture and distribution of fake drugs in the country has become a matter of serious concern. Discoveries in recent raids on some markets and sundry manufacturing and distribution outlets over fake and adulterated drugs gave clear indications to the extent of the rot in the sector. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of 87 truckloads of banned, expired, and substandard medical products, including USAID and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs, male and female condoms. The value of the seizures was estimated at about N1 trillion.

The markets affected included open drug market in Ariara, Aba, Abia State, Niger Bridge Head Market, (Ogbo-Ogwu) Onitsha, Anambra, and Idumota in Lagos State. NAFDAC justified the simultaneous enforcement exercise in the three markets on the ground that they account for 80 per cent of the drugs sold in the country.

Products found to have been faked and counterfeited include antibiotics, anti-hypertensive, anti-diabetic, anti-asthmatic, aphrodisiacs, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, herbal remedies and psychoactive drugs. The enforcement team also discovered banned drugs on sale. They included; analgin, tramadol (above 100 mg), gentamycin (280 mg), codeine and controlled substances, vaccines, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, chemicals and unwholesome food, empty plastics, bags and cans, among others.

The raids equally exposed the antics of drug dealers who imitated some popular drugs and packaged them into containers of the original manufacturers in order to deceive unsuspecting members of the public. Before the latest raids, NAFDAC had severally confiscated lorry loads of fake and substandard products in various parts of the country, burning and destroying them to forestall their being pushed back into the markets. Unfortunately, despite the spirited efforts by NAFDAC agents, fake drugs, foods and consumables still find their ways to the markets in the country. This is where it pains most. No system develops on this trajectory. Even in the most lawless of societies, there should be modicum of order. Government cannot fold its arms while unscrupulous few keeps endangering the lives of the majority. It perhaps needs to be emphasised that protection of life and property of the people remains the primary function of the government. On no account should this responsibility be abdicated to any group or people.

This is the time for regulatory authorities to stand firm and declare; thus far and no further on the issue of fake and counterfeit drugs. The fight against the menace cannot be fought and won by NAFDAC alone. Sister service and agencies like the Customs, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Police and Department of State Services (DSS) must be involved. The judiciary and legislature also have roles in tackling the menace. Relevant legislations on the matter need to be activated and vigorously enforced.

The demand by the House of Representatives on the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi to propose amendments to existing laws on the production and circulation of fake drugs, is a step in the right direction. Among the recommendations of the House was the imposition of a strict sanction, including death penalty, on those who produce and circulate fake and adulterated drugs in the country.  These are commendable moves that should be followed to logical conclusion.

Though death penalty is becoming out of fashion in many parts of the world, drug peddlers should not be allowed to have their way. Stiffer punishments should be applied to dissuade them from the illicit trade. Nigerians should also see it as a duty to report activities of suspected or confirmed drug peddlers among their midst. Those involved in the odious business should retrace their steps. Everything is not about money and reveling in toxic opulence