The Nigeerian House of Representatives has called on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Pharmacists Council of Nigeria and other relevant government agencies to regulate online advertising and sales of drugs in Nigeria.
The House resolution was sequel to the motion of Hon. Onofiok Akpan Luke, Chairman, House Committee on Federal Judiciary.
While presenting the motion at the floor of the Green Chamber on Tuesday, Hon. Luke said given the false, exaggerated media and online advertisement of drugs, members of the public are enticed into buying the drugs ranging from dietary supplements, cholesterol-lowering medicine, analgesics, including tramadol and aspirin to Viagra and other sex enhancement drugs,adding that some of these are unregistered and are therefore purchased without a doctor’s prescription or the advice of a pharmacist.
He added that “Online advertising is using the internet/online platforms as a medium to deliver marketing messages to an identified and intended audience, and is designed to persuade the targeted customer to engage in a specific action including making a purchase.
The law maker further said that given its expansive reach, online advertising has become increasingly important to business owners and service providers across the world because it is more cost-efficient, offering measurability and delivering unmatched speedy dissemination.
He therefore said online vendors have capitalized on free access to the internet and social media platforms to advertise and sell unregistered and sometimes fake drugs to unsuspecting members of the public, thereby endangering their health and wellbeing,” Hon. Luke said.
He said going by rge false and exaggerated media and online advertisement of drugs, members of the public are enticed into buying the drugs ranging from dietary supplements, cholesterol-lowering medicine, analgesics, including tramadol and aspirin to Viagra and other sex enhancement drugs, some of which are unregistered and purchased without a doctor’s prescription or the advice of a pharmacist.
Following Luke’s motion, the resolved caller on the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to liaise with online advertising companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc., to effectively monitor, control, and enforce advertising standards against online drug advertisers and vendors.
The Green Chamber also called on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to arrest and prosecute unlawful online advertisers of drugs, and enlighten the public against the dangers of purchasing unregistered and non-prescribed drugs online.
The House urged the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria to sanction and prosecute individuals engaging in the sales and promotion of medicines online without the requisite authorization in line with the law establishing the Council;
It also urged the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to take necessary action towards protecting consumers of online drugs;
