677 pharmaceutical stores sealed in Kano over irregular practices

Pharmacist Council of Nigeria has sealed 677 pharmaceutical outlets in Kano for irregular and unprofessional practices.

This followed four days of inspection and enforcement activities conducted by the pharmacies’ regulatory body in the state in a bid to sanitise pharmaceutical practice for public safety.

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The Registrar, PCN, Pharm. Nurudeen Elijah Mohammed disclosed this on Thursday in a press briefing marking the end of the four-day exercise.

According to him, 996 premises were visited by the inspection and monitoring team, comprising 65 pharmacies and 931 patent and proprietary medicine vendors (PPMV) during the exercise.

The 677 include 41 pharmacies and 636 PPMV shops for “not registering or renewing their premises’ licenses as required by law,” he said.

Mohammed who was represented by the Director Inspection and Monitoring, Mrs. Anthonia Aruya emphasized that the premises would remain sealed until all regulatory guidelines are met.

He charged the public to always be wary of quarks parading themselves as pharmacists, stressing that medicines could be poisonous if used without professional guidance.

He said PCN had observed during the field inspection that “many stakeholders in Kano open medicine stores at will without recourse to regulations. Some could not write or read in English which makes one wonder how they are able to give right medicines to the patients.

“Over all there is a display of lack of understanding of the fact that handling of medicines is firstly a professional service before consideration of business component,” she added.