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Nigerians have been warned against patronising hawkers of herbal concoctions.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, who gave the warning on Wednesday in Lagos, said the medicines lacked storage standards.
“Liquid herbal concoctions start growing bacteria, especially after four or five days.
“Even if the herbal concoction has some medicinal properties, the bacteria will kill the person first that is taking it,” she said.
The NAFDAC boss said that any drug being hawked on the streets or in buses should be avoided because of the uncertainty of its source.
Ms Adeyeye, however, said some of the herbal medicines work but consumers must ensure that they pass NAFDAC’s safety and efficacy tests.
“Many of our herbal medicines work but we have to do a lot of research to show how they work, at what level we are supposed to be taking them so that it will not get to the toxicity level.
The DG particularly cautioned against the use of performance-enhancing drugs because of the danger it poses for many unsuspecting men.
“Many men have died using performance-enhancing drugs because if they use them and they have heart problems or have ‘X’ type of ailment, it can easily kill,” she said.
Ms Adeyeye said the agency would continue to use the multifaceted approach it adopted, which includes strengthening the pharmaceutical industries, to ensure that the citizenry is protected from fake, substandard or contaminated foods and drugs.