The Upper West Regional office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), has engaged radio station managers in the region on the Authority’s guidelines and the provision of the Public Health Act 2012 (Act 851) on advertisement of its regulated products.
Per section 114 (1) of the Public Health Act: “a person shall not advertise a drug, a herbal medical product, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical substance to the public as treatment, preventive or cure for a disease, disorder or an abnormal physical state unless the advertisement has been approved by the Authority.”
Also, subsection (2) says: “Despite subsection (1), a person shall not advertise a drug, a herbal medical product, medical device or cosmetic for the treatment or cure for diseases specified in the Fifth Schedule.”
The diseases specified in the Fifth Schedule included: hypertension, diabetes, and AIDS, among others.
Also, the FDA guidelines provided that advertisement of alcoholic beverages must be done after 8:00pm and before 6:00am.
Mr Kelvin Dafaari Sunkpal, the Acting Upper West Regional Head of the FDA, said any radio station that violates those provisions and guidelines would be punished according to the law.
He also entreated the radio station managers to ensure that any advertisement of FDA-regulated products including food, medicines, cosmetics, and alcoholic beverages among others was approved by the FDA.
“Anyone who comes to your radio station to advertise any FDA-regulated product, please ask for the FDA approval letter before going ahead to advertise.
“If you do any advertisement for any FDA regulated products, be it medicine, food or drink which the FDA has not approved, you will face the consequences,” Mr Sunkpal advised.
He said though the various radio stations in the region had been supporting the FDA with airtime to do public education, the issue of flouting the regulations on advertisement of FDA-regulated products in the region was worrying.
He also said it was illegal to mount a billboard less than 200 meters from a second cycle or basic school advertising alcoholic beverage.
He, thus, appealed to the media to help the FDA in the region to clamp down on that by reporting such adverts to the authority for the necessary actions to be taken.
Mr Sunkpal also urged the media to collaborate with the FDA to educate the public on the dangers of drug abuse in the region.
Mr Christopher Asiedu, the Acting Upper West Regional Manager of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, suggested that the FDA should make copies of the regulations and provisions of the Public Health Act on advertisement of FDA-regulated products available to the various radio stations to serve as reminders to them.
GNA
