Forum demands tough action against unapproved drug adverts

A forum in Ho on “combatting counterfeit products” has demanded tough action by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to deal with unapproved and misleading advertisements on products under its purview.

The Forum was critical of Media Houses, which ran such advertisements because they misled the public into believing that such products were approved by the FDA and therefore safe for consumption.

Eugene Addo, Director of Communication of the Authority explained that jingles on such products must be submitted to the Authority for approval even when the products have been approved for public patronage.

Mr Addo explained that advertisements on some diseases such as tuberculosis, hypertension, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, fibroid are prohibited.

Media Houses, which run such unapproved advertisements risked paying a fine of GHC25,000.00 when successfully prosecuted, he said.

The Forum suggested that such Media Houses should be banned because their actions were detrimental to good health and public safety.

Mr Addo said a national forum with all media organisations would be held in Accra to discuss the issue after which there would be strict enforcement and prosecution of defaulters.

Mr Peter K. Agyeman-Duah, Acting Deputy Chief Executive, Monitoring and Evaluation, told a separate meeting of Media representatives that the Authority did not want to get into a tango with Media Houses because they are important stakeholders in enforcing public health and safety.

He said the Forum approach has been adopted to seek public opinion, co-operation or critique of its operations and make suggestions for improving service delivery.

Also discussed were the need to curtail cumbersome approval processes and exorbitant fees and the possibility of expired products repackaged and brought into the market.

Mr Agyeman-Duah said the Authority needed the co-operation and information from the public to be able to carry out its mandate.