Refrain from illegal advertisement – FDA warns

The Acting Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation, at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Mr Agyekum Duah has urged media houses to collaborate with the FDA to ensure only certified products were advertised through their mediums.

He said such collaboration would enable the media houses to demand from product producers and companies an approved letter given by the FDA that certifies and allows advertisement to be placed in the media.

Mr Duah, who was speaking at a sensitization forum with stakeholders in Koforidua to create awareness of the regulations of the FDA, said with the media support, the procedures in protecting the public and consumers would be achieved.

According to Mr Duah, the series of stakeholder meeting was to call for public support through awareness creation to eliminate counterfeit and expired products from the market to avoid the adverse effects it has on the consumer.

He said a fine of GH¢25, 000.00 would be imposed on defaulters, who go against the regulations of the FDA and urged stakeholders to do the right thing to avoid such fines.

Mr James Lartey, Head of Communications at the FDA noted that, registering a product does not make it legitimate to be advertised, because it is part of the scrutinizing process to ensure its efficacy before an approval was given for advertisement.

He said there were plans to blacklist some advertisements from the public, adding that, advertisement had become the biggest challenge in enforcing the standards and regulation of the FDA.

Mr Eric Darko, a Regulatory Officer, said they had identified some companies in the region, operating for years, but have not registered, as well as herbal dealers who peddle in cars and on the streets.