… Prevention Strategic In Tackling Menace
Chioma Umeha
Lagos – Contrary to widely-held beliefs, the
upsurge of drug abuse has moved from being a simple a reality to becoming major thorny issue of
national discourse.
The tragic trend now cuts across every strata of
the society and has since remained in the front burner after the ban on codeine in the
following a documentary exposing the prevalence of codeine consumption in some
parts of the country by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a UK public
service broadcaster.
Along with other non-state actors, pharmacists
have brought the issue to the front burner urging the government to recognise
the practice among youths and ‘declare a national state of emergency’ over drug
abuse. To stave off the impending plague, the authorities need all hands on deck.
The pharmacists spoke under the platform of
Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), in Lagos and enjoined urged the
public, private sector and other relevant stakeholders to focus more on the
prevention of drug abuse as a strategy to tackle the menace.
Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, President of PSN who spoke
for the society also said focus should be on the treatment of drug addiction in
various parts of the country.
He spoke during a workshop PSN organised to
educate health journalists on better reportage of drug-related issues and to
mark 2018 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking,
observed globally on June 26.
This year’s theme is ‘Listen first – Listening to Children and Youth is the
first step to help them grow healthy and safe’.
Commenting on the theme, Yakasai said it was an
initiative to increase support for prevention of drug use that is based on
science and is thus an effective investment in the well-being of children and
youth, their families and communities.
Studies have shown that drug abuse has become an
issue of public emergency which must be addressed to safeguard the future of
the youths who are entangled in the cobweb of drug abuse and misuse.
According to a survey conducted by the Narcotics
and Drug Abuse Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), many
factors have contributed to the prevalence of drug abuse.
Presenting the survey at the one-day capacity
building workshop for journalists in Lagos, the president of PSN said, the
study was conducted to study the pharmacists’ perception, knowledge and
attitudes on the menace of pharmaceutical drug abuse in Nigeria.
He said that this is discernible as most
pharmacists deal directly with clients with the tendency for overconsumption of
drugs.
According to the survey, the factors promoting the
drug abuse are peer pressure, cultism, presence of open drug markets, inadequate
regulatory control, inadequate logistics, prevalence of illegal medicine
outlets and presence of drug hawkers.
The common pharmaceutical drugs of abuse
identified by respondents are cough syrups with codeine, cannabis, tramadol,
flunitrazepam, nicotine, alcohol, diazepam, bromazepam, methamphetamine and
amphetamine.
Yakasai said: “The respondents strongly agree that
factors that promote abuse of pharmaceutical drugs include unrestricted access
to those drugs, distribution of prescription drugs with potential for abuse
without observing good distribution practices (GDP), preponderance of illegal
premises and influx of unregistered products into the markets.”
He also said, “The prevalence of illegal outlets
is a serious problem. So far we don’t have more than 55,000 outlets registered
with the Pharmacists’ Council of Nigeria (PCN) but we have more than one
million pharmaceutical shops scattered all over Nigeria. So that means 950,000
medicine stores are illegal and they are there. The drug hawkers are there.”
Yakasai lamented that the prevalence of drug abuse
has reached unprecedented level across the geopolitical zones of the country
despite the efforts of government, PSN and other private actors to curb the
ugly trend.
He stressed the need for improved enlightenment
campaign on the danger of drug abuse saying the PSN is engaging the media to
fight the menace.
“The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and her
technical groups, PNS-Narcotics and Drug Abuse Committee as well as state
branches across the country have been educating people on the dangers of drug
abuse.
“We’ve also called the attention of the government
and other stakeholders to this menace. We believe that with utmost commitment
from all stakeholders, we can reduce drug abuse to the lowest ebb in Nigeria.”
The PSN boss also emphasised the need for
pharmacists to specialise in mental health pharmacy, while calling for the
establishment of rehabilitation centres to treat drug addicts. “Also,
prescription policy must be implemented,” he added.
At the workshop were representatives of the
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC),
Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and other relevant stakeholders in
pharmaceutical practices.
On his part, Dr. Umar Musa, the director of
Narcotics and Controlled Substances of NAFDAC, said it is the common shared
responsibility of all Nigerians that would reduce the risk of drug abuse to the
barest minimum.
Stressing that NAFDAC has been in the forefront of
the campaign through regular seizures and destruction of drugs, he said all the
seizures were just a tip of the iceberg.
Musa suggested that in curtailing drug abuse,
there is need to block supply source, demand reduction, and tackle fake and
falsified drugs.
He said: “Once the new National Drug Distribution
Guidelines (NDDG) comes into force on January 1, 2019 and with good
enforcement, I see a veritable way of drastically reducing drug abuse and
misuse.
“Drug distribution is a key and strategic
component of any healthcare system.
A healthcare delivery system lacks credibility and legitimacy without
good drugs. Medicines are at the
heart of any health care intervention be it immunisation, surgery,
orthopaedics, paediatrics, oncology or reproductive health,” he said.
Pharm. Elijah Mohammed, the PCN registrar,
represented by Pharm. Peter Nliyah also expressed optimism in the new National
Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG) to reduce drug abuse and misuse in the country.
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