The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki,
has said that individuals convicted of producing and selling
counterfeit and fake drugs as well as unwholesome processed foods may be
jailed for life.
Saraki, who spoke at the public hearing
on a Bill for an Act to Amend the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and
Unwholesome Processed Foods Act, added that such convicts could be fined
up to two million naira.
He further said that .......
upon conviction, assets acquired by such persons would be forfeited to the Federal Government.
According to him, the amendment of the
law is aimed at strengthening punishments for persons involved in such
unwholesome practices.
“In 2008, thousands of Nigerian children
started taking a teething medicine that contained toxic chemicals. By
February 2009 over 90 Nigerian babies had died from consuming the
mixture. This is despicable, and to say the least, unacceptable,” he
said.
The president of the Senate stressed
that the amendment of the law would provide Nigerians food security,
disease free society and required standards for soil sciences.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso,
said the Senate had continued to give opportunity to Nigerians to
contribute their quota to matters of national importance, particularly
health.
He said that the World Health
Organisation had reported that about 32 billion dollars was lost to drug
counterfeiting business in 2004 and 40 billion dollars in 2006.
“There is need to enact new legislation
or amend the weak or already existing ones to see that the lives of the
citizens of this nation are protected,’’ he said.
Tejuoso said that the increased level of fake products in the Nigerian market was alarming.
He added that “there are several fake
products like fake cosmetics, fake registered appliances, fake
spare-parts, fake brushes, fake designer shoes and the list is literally
endless. The effect is far reaching because it is a matter of life and
death. Some of the major causes of fake drugs and counterfeiting include
corruption, inadequate technology for the protection of the identity of
genuine drugs as well as lack of vigilance and advocacy by the
healthcare providers. Combating this menace requires serious efforts,”
he said.
According to him, about 50 per cent of
drugs bought from private places, such as pharmacies, patent medicine
stores and street vendors, are more susceptible to counterfeiting unlike
those from the public health sector.
“According to late Dora Akunyili
of blessed memory, the negative impact of fake drugs from the society
is more than that of either narcotic agents but the combined effects of
malaria, HIV/AIDS and armed robbery,” he said.
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