Wednesday, June 18, 2014

NAFDAC arrests don for hawking unauthorised herbal drugs


Director General of NAFDAC, Dr Paul OrhiiThe National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control, has arrested a professor for selling unregistered herbal products.
The professor identified as Dayo Oyekole claimed he obtained his doctorate degree from the University of Ibadan.
The agency alleged that the professor paraded himself as an epidemiologist and chief consultant, Mosebolatan Holistic Lifecare International.
A pamphlet advertising some of the unregistered products of the company showed that it has offices at 11,Ire-Akari Estate Road, Isolo, Lagos with its Head office at Mosebolatan Plaza, Ogbere-Tioya, Off Olorunsogo Express Bridge, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Though the pamphlets and advertisement placed on a national newspaper (not Punch) showed that 14 of the company’s herbal products had been registered with NAFDAC, the agency said the company only has four of its products listed between 2005 and 2007.
The professor in the pamphlet claimed that NAFDAC had approved natural herbal medicines, for him to cure exam failures, marital problems, bad dreams among others.
But NAFDAC’s Director-General, Dr. Paul Orhii, at a briefing on Tuesday, denied the company’s claims, lamenting that unauthorised products have dominated the market.
Orhii stated, “Recently, the agency discovered an advertisement in the a national newspaper (not Punch) edition of June 15, 2014 where Prof. Dayo Oyekole of Mosebolatan Holistic Lifecare Centre placed an unauthorised advertisement of range of herbal products with spurious claims of total cure and deliverance of various ailments. Upon investigation, a few of the products (four out of 14) were listed by NAFDAC between 2005 and 2007. Since then, the listing of the products have not been renewed as required by law. Ten out of these products have no history of listing with NAFDAC but are openly displayed for sale and being dispensed in his clinic.”
“The agency in recent times has observed the proliferation of unauthorised advertisement of herbal products in both the print and electronic media.”
Most of these adverts are misleading and carry false claims of treatment and cure of various ailments including; treatment of HIV/AIDs, hepatitis, kidney diseases drug addiction, mental sickness, marital problems, bad dreams, examination failure, asthmas, cancer, prostate enlargement among others.
“While some of these adverts carry NAFDAC number on the products advertised, investigations have shown that most of these products have not been submitted to NAFDAC for listing.”
He explained that giving registration to herbal drugs does not guarantee efficacy of such products, but showed that it was safe for consumption.

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