The Head of the Drug Enforcement Department at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Thomas Amedzro, has cautioned the public against patronising body enhancement medications that are currently on sale at various markets.
Some of these medications are packaged with elaborate sexually explicit pictures and are touted to enhance sexual performance, increase hips and breast sizes of women, flatten tummies or cure sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Mr Amedzro issued this warning when he interacted with The Mirror in Accra over the proliferation of these enhancement medications on the market.
He said these drugs which ranged from syrups, creams and bore names such as bozcaada or hip-ups were dangerous to health. He added that they were unregistered and could have serious health repercussions including death for its users.
“These drugs are smuggled into the country and can affect your internal organs such as the kidney, the liver and the heart which may show up later in your life,” he said.
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He said the FDA and the Ghana Police Service collaborated several times in swoops at places such as Tema Station, Agbogbloshie Market and the Kaneshie Market where the drugs were prominently on sale but only succeeded in arresting some retailers.
The real challenge, he said, was to establish the source of the supply and how they were brought into the country.
The FDA, he said, had extended invitation to other security services to help track the source of the drugs and how they were smuggled on to the Ghanaian market.
Mr Amedzro further indicated that the Tema Harbour and the Kotoka International Airport served as the only entry points of medicines imported into the country and therefore it was surprising how the fake medicines made their way to the Ghanaian market.
He, therefore, appealed to the public to expose smugglers and peddlers of such fake medicines.
On hawking, he maintained that although it was within the domain of the Pharmacy Council to determine who had the right to sell medicine, it was illegal for persons to hawk medicine on the streets irrespective of whether the medicines were certified by the Food and Drugs Authority or not.
Mr Amedzro, therefore, advised people to go to hospitals or approved pharmacy outlets for their medications
