The Volta Regional office of Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the Pharmacy Council, have confiscated large quantities of drugs displayed on tables at the Manfi-Kumasi market in the North-Tongu District.

The drugs, which include analgesics, antibiotics, topical preparations, aphrodisiacs and other exotic medicines, filled two pickups to the brim.

Mr Geoffrey V Arthur Senior Regulatory Officer of the FDA told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Ho that the swoop was necessitated by the increasing incidence of illegal trading in pharmaceuticals.

He said the practice is dangerous as the untrained hands selling the drugs could misinform clients on their usage. Mr Arthur said medicines are potentially toxic and needs to be kept under certain conditions, “and certainly not under humid and dusty conditions”.

He said some of the peddlers are iterant and could hardly be traced, when the drugs they sell harm users.

Mr Arthur noted that some of the drug dispensers carry stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers (blood pressure monitors), and offer spurious interpretations to the health conditions of their clients.

Mr Ken Owusu, Regional Manager of the Pharmacy Council said drugs under Ghana’s laws could only be sold in pharmacies or licensed chemical shops.

He warned the public to desist from purchasing drugs from peddlers as the “sources and qualities of these medicines cannot be guaranteed”.

Mr Owusu said the Council would continue with public education on the dangers of inappropriate use of medicines.

Mr Roderick Daddey-Adjei, FDA Regional Officer, said the exercise was part of the Authority’s Post Market Surveillance, which would continue to rid the market of peddlers.