•Upgrades Its Medicine Information Centre To Stop
Menace
CHIOMA UMEHA
LAGOS
With growing spate
of suicide in the country, stakeholders have said that poisons can no longer be
treated with kid’s glove but as a public health emergency issue requiring prompt, co-ordinated and simple response.
Announcing this was Pharm
(Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) who
said that the primary tool for the
response is information.
The PSN boss further
noted that those who often come into first contact with
poison victims may not be trained health care professionals. Every time lost in
the confused state of managing victims jeopardises the chance for survival, he
added.
Ohuabunwa who spoke in a
statement signed by Mrs. Ijeoma Okey Ewurum, PSN Publicity Secretary, announced;
that PSN has unveiled plans to up-scale the activities of her Medicine
Information Center (MIC) to a National Drug and Poisons Information, Emerging
Response and Research Centre. According to him, the centre would provide the
information urgently required to respond and tackle the ugly menace of
poisoning in the country, Nigeria.
Recently, the media was awash with news of a young
Nigerian, 400-level student of the Department of English and Literary Studies,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Chukwuemeka Akachi who committed suicide
by ingesting two bottles of the pesticide Sniper.
Six Nigerians reportedly
attempted or died by suicide in the same week as Akachi’s death. All these
suicides have one thing in common: the victims ingested Sniper.
Sniper is a pesticide for
industrial use, but Nigerians are using it to kill mosquitoes and cockroaches
in their homes.
Sniper is simply one
example of deadly substances which has made the news recently for being the
go-to poison for suicide. Another example is Codeine.
However, the Pharmaceutical
Codex 1979 stated that any substance which by its chemical action causes damage
to structures, or disturbance of function when ingested, inhaled or absorbed
can act as a poison. Some poisons may have therapeutic benefits when used in
recommended doses, but this same therapeutic agent could become a dangerous
chemical and threat to life when consumed.
Poisoning is injury or
death due to ingesting, inhaling,
touching or injecting various drugs, chemicals, venoms or gases. Many
substances, such as drugs and carbon monoxide, are poisonous only if ingested.
Children are particularly
sensitive to even small amounts of certain drugs and chemicals.
In 2017 the U.S poison
control centers reported telephone guidance for nearly 2.12 million human
poison exposures that means 640 persons in every 100,000 persons (adults) were
exposed, one poison exposure reported at the control center every 14.9 seconds.
Poisoning affects both the
young and old, male and female, though children below 6 years comprise almost
half of the exposed. Reasons for poisoning could be; Unintentional: therapeutic
error, environmental, bite & sting from insects, Intentional: suspected
suicide, misuse, abuse and others
Most common substances
implicated in poison exposures include cosmetics and personal care product,
cleaning substances, analgesics, topical preparation, pesticides,
antihistamine, vitamins, pesticides, plants and dietary supplements. Available
data in Nigeria on poisoning is not comprehensive but selective
on heavy metal poisoning.
Berating the situation,
Mazi Ohuabunwa said;”With recent events in our country, poisons can no longer
be treated as a child’s thing but a public health issue.
Poisoning Response should
be prompt, co-ordinated and simple.
“The primary tool for
response is information. Most times those who come into first contact with the
victim may not be trained health care professionals. Every time lost in the
confused state jeopardizes the chance for survival.”
He said; “The government has tried to control the use of poisons through enactment of new laws or adjustment
of already existing laws .”
Examples, he said are the ban on the sale and
distribution of hazardous insecticides like sniper; Restriction on the sale and
distribution of codeine Others are; Restriction of Cannabis use because of its use as a CNS stimulant and intoxication of young females by young
adult males for rape or forced sex.
The rest are; “Enactment
and implementation of laws on poisons use and poisoning are not enough to
control poisoning.”
Given the scenario, he said
that poisoning response in Nigeria, the upgrading of MIC to a National Drug and
Poisons Information, Emerging Response and Research Centre which launch holds
tomorrow is a timely intervention.
The PSN President said;
“This centre will operate as a National workplace (call centre) that offers
hope of survival to victims exposed to untoward effects of drugs, substances of
abuse and poisons, through counseling, referral and when necessary, the mobilisation
of appropriate response team.”
He also said that the
operation units of the centre will include, a call centre for effective
communication and mobilisation of real time response; conduct training for
professionals, support research and utilisation of research findings.
On the benefits, Ohuabunwa reasoned; “Life expectancy is affected positively as
many more lives can be saved in cases of promptly reported emergencies”
Through strong
inter-professional collaboration, he said that Government will have accurate
data to work with, adding; “Medicines security will improve National security.
Nigeria’s healthcare services ratings
by the international community will improve.”
“The PSN Emergency
Response Research Center will provoke and adopt an international protocol in
the emergency response to poisoning and drug abuse. It will impact on the
structure and content of response. The PSN will stop at nothing in leading the
way to end substance abuse and poisoning in Nigeria,” he added, while calling all Nigerians to support the noble
project.”
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