Why you could be buying fake drugs from chemists

By KIBIWOTT KOROSS

Is the pharmacy you visit registered and the drugs therein legitimate? For millions of Kenyans, the easy answer is ‘No’.

According to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya, 30 per cent of drugs sold in the country last year were fake or counterfeit, accounting for a loss of more than Sh10 billion.

This week, the Board published a list of all registered pharmacies and chemists in the country and warned against buying drugs from shops that do not appear on their list.

“Buy only from registered pharmacies and chemists to ensure quality, safe and efficacious medicines,” said Dr Kipkerich Koskei, the registrar at PPBK.

The list came as a shock for Esther (not her real name) who is pondering her next move. Her shop was not on the list of the registered 1,031 pharmacies released on Monday.

Esther, an attendant at one of the shops dispensing medicine on the busy Tom Mboya Street, says she was shocked to learn that their outlet now faces closure. “I have been here only for six months. I was not aware that this pharmacy is not registered,” she says.

Unqualified pharmacists

In July, the Kenya Pharmaceutical Association raised concerns over the increased number pharmacists practicing illegally. The association said the country had more than 6,000 pharmacists with only 1,500 certified by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board to practice.

Speaking in Mombasa, the Board’s secretary general James Githinji said there are many chemists being operated by unqualified personnel. Githinji said the large number of unqualified personnel is attributed to the government’s failure to employ many students who graduate from medical training colleges.

He said the board is taking action to stem out illegal outlets which sell expired and substandard drugs, including antibiotics and pain killers.

“Most of these outlets are concentrated in slums like Kibera, Mathare and Nakuru, that our officers cannot reach,” he said.

“The areas are inaccessible.”

But some, which are in places where they are accessible, have also escaped the eye of the board and security operators. In Nairobi’s Tom Mboya Street, there are pharmacies sandwiched between stalls like the one where Esther works.

Dr Koskei did not rule out the existence of such outlets, saying some displayed scanned copies of registration, but warned that his office would act on them soon.

“We have inspectors throughout the country. Nairobi has more than half of the chemists and that means we have more problems here. We have been closing such outlets and arresting the operators. The courts have also been doing well by giving them hard sentences. Selling an uncertified drug is dangerous because it risks the life of the consumer,” Dr Koskei said.

Despite having the highest number of registered pharmacies, Nakuru and Mombasa also top the towns with a many unregistered outlets. 

In Mombasa’s Kisauni, Mishomoroni and Likoni areas, most of the pharmacies are operated by unqualified staff or lack permits. Nakuru County has 177 registered outlets while Mombasa has 252. Only one is registered in Samburu County.

Quacks caught dishing out fake drugs in private and public pharmacies will part with Sh1 million in fines if a proposed law is approved.

“The public should also be vigilant and desist from buying medicine from such places. They should also report suspicious chemists to the police or any government official,” Koskei told The Standard on Saturday.

 Hefty fines

The draft amendments to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board Act will also see unlicenced and unregistered pharmacies attract a fine of Sh500,000. The current maximum fine is Sh50,000.

The proposed amendments are being considered by the Parliamentary Health Committee led by Dr Rachael Nyamai. A new requirement in the draft Bill reads in part: “No person shall operate a pharmacy without the presence of a registered pharmacist and pharmaceutical technologist in the premises where such business is being carried out.”

Pharmacies and pharmaceutical technologists that don’t prominently display their certificate of registration and annual licences in their pharmacies will be fined Sh200,000 up from Sh20,000.

According to the amendments, a person who sells any counterfeit, illegally imported or unregistered pharmaceutical substances and medicinal devices will be fined Sh1 million or serve a maximum of 10 years in prison or both. Should the proposed amendments be passed, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board will be transformed into the Pharmacy and Poisons Authority.

According to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya, counterfeit drugs are sub-standard drugs that are fraudulently labelled or include wrong ingredients, whereas fake drugs have no active ingredients.

Medicines are bought faster, hence the best selection for counterfeits. Pharmaceutical companies estimate that most anti-malaria drugs are the most counterfeited drugs.

It is problematic since at one time, 60 per cent of drugs were said to be fake or substandard.

Pain killers like Panadols, which are always sold to low income earners, are fake. People often choose low prices over high quality.