The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) enforcement team has shut down 751 medicine stores in Gombe State in a move to uphold standards and safeguard public health.
The Director of Enforcement, Mr. Stephen Esumobifsi, revealed this development to newsmen on Thursday in Gombe.
The shutdown
The shut outlets comprise 39 pharmacies, 128 patent medicine shops, and 584 illegal medicine shops, reflecting a widespread enforcement effort targeting various sectors of the pharmaceutical landscape.
- Esumobifsi outlined the infractions discovered during the five-day enforcement exercise, which included the sale of medicines in open drug markets, operating without registration with the PCN, inadequate documentation, substandard storage facilities, and stocking ethical products without pharmacists’ supervision, among other violations.
- The implications of these actions are profound, as medicines sold in such unregulated environments may have undergone degradation of active ingredients, rendering them unfit for human consumption and potentially harmful to public health.
- Esumobifsi emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting that some of the products pose serious threats to public health and exacerbate existing social and security challenges arising from illicit medicine use.
Before the enforcement exercise, the PCN had engaged with relevant stakeholders, including medicine dealers in the Gombe open drug market, urging them to relocate to appropriate locations in compliance with regulations. However, the failure to heed these directives necessitated the enforcement actions undertaken by the council.
