17th May, 2018
Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has commended the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for its decisive regulation on production and distribution of Codeine.
Director-General of the council, Mr Babatunde Irukera, made the commendation in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Irukera said that the council welcomed all meaningful efforts to address the rising cases of “abusive consumption of controlled substances’’.
He said the council on April 10, issued an “Advisory’’ that publicly called for a ban and prohibition on the prescription of cough medication containing Codeine.
He, therefore, said that the outright ban of the product by NAFDAC was commendable.
“Protecting citizens’ addiction and the harm done by abuse of controlled substances must remain a priority always, to the exclusion and sometimes, at the expense of commercial considerations.
“The council will deploy its entire apparatus and resources to support NAFDAC, Ministry of Health, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and other relevant agencies to enforce this ban.
“It will deploy resources to also prevent access to codeine and similar addictive substances.
“The council advocates and encourages a strong and zero tolerance approach to access distribution or proliferation of these substances or any combination of chemical properties that have similar effect.
“We will also ensure that production and availability of legitimate medication remain inviolate and uncompromised,” Irukera said.