PCN shut down 424 illegal pharmacies, chemists in Abuja

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The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 424 illegal pharmacies and patent medicine shops within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Registrar of the council, Pharmacist Elijah Mohammed, disclosed this on Friday while briefing newsmen in Abuja.

Represented by the Director, Enforcement of the agency, Pharmacist Stephen Esumobi, he said 99 pharmacies and 325 patent medicine shops were sealed out of a total of 644 premises visited during the enforcement exercise at the beginning of the week.

He said: “At the end of the enforcement exercise, a total of 644 premises comprising 216 pharmacies and 428 patent medicine shops were visited.

“A total of 424 premises made up of 99 pharmacies and 325 patent medicine shops were sealed.”

He said they were sealed for various offences ranging from operating without registration with the PCN, failure to renew premises license, dispensing ethical products without the supervision of a pharmacist, poor storage and sanitary conditions, among others.

Pharmacist Mohammed said a major factor militating against rational distribution and use of medicines in Nigeria is the existence of unregistered medicine shops across the country, adding that most of them were operated by traders who know nothing about the therapeutic or pharmacokinetic profiles of the medicines they sell to the public.

He said illegal premises pose a serious threat to public health because they have over the years become channels for distributing medicines whose quality, safety and efficacy have been compromised due to poor storage facilities and handling.