NAFDAC Uncovers N200 Million Worth Of Fake Drinks

The health risks which Nigerians are exposed to have once again been highlighted as The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has uncovered fake and unregistered products valued at over N200 million.

The products, confiscated through a whistle-blower’s report, were stocked in a building at 11, Omotosho Crescent, off Ewedana Street, Toll Gate, Ota in Ogun State. The building also served as production outlet for bitters with fake NAFDAC registration numbers.

At a briefing in Lagos yesterday, Acting Director-General of NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, explained that the building is a bungalow of five bedrooms, with two residential rooms, while the other three, the parlour and the kitchen were used for production of unregistered, deceptive and counterfeit products.

Oni, who was represented by the Director, Port Inspectorate, Mr. Kingsley Ejiofor, gave the name of the owner (withheld), adding that the products were being produced in a dirty environment by unqualified personnel.

According to her, empty plastic bottles, caps, cartons and sticker labels of other products were also found in the facility, while the address on the labels of all the products were fake.

Oni said the agency also raided Ogbaru Relief Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, where they discovered several shops used for the production, distribution, sale and storage of fake and counterfeit alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks of various popular brands valued at over N200 million.

The drinks, she noted, were produced by manual mixing in plastic buckets and filled into bottles under unhygienic conditions.

As most of the bitters produced in Nigeria are alcohol based, experts have warned on the health dangers of consuming fake alcohol based products. Properly produced and certified alcoholic drinks are made with ethanol – alcohol that’s safe to drink in moderation. But fake alcoholic drinks can be produced using other cheaper types of alcohol which can have serious adverse effects on your health. 

Drinkaware’s Chief Medical Advisor Professor Paul Wallace explains: “Commonly used substitutes for ethanol include chemicals used in cleaning fluids, nail polish remover and automobile screen wash, as well as methanol and isopropanol which are used in antifreeze and some fuels. These other types of alcohol can produce similar effects to ethanol in terms of making you feel tipsy. But they are also potentially very dangerous.” 

Drinking alcohol containing these chemicals can cause nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, drowsiness and dizziness. It can also lead to kidney or liver problems and even coma. Methanol, a substance which can be used in fake vodka, may cause permanent blindness.

“Drinking illegally produced alcohol should be avoided at all costs,” says Dr Wallace. “You don’t know what’s in it in terms of the actual chemicals – and you don’t know the strength of what you're drinking because it’s not been produced to the standards of commercial alcohol.” 

Jeremy Beadles, former Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, believes most consumers won’t come across fake alcohol and says that it’s important to keep the problem in perspective. “The vast majority of alcohol is produced and sold legitimately,” he says. “Most pubs, corner shops, off licenses and other retailers are completely legitimate businesses and wouldn’t get involved with it.”

However, it’s important to know how to spot—and avoid—fake alcohol if you do come across it. 

According to the Trading Standards Institute, people need to remember ‘the 4 Ps’: Place, Price, Packaging and Product. 

Place: Make sure you buy from a reputable supermarket, off licence or shop.

Price: If a deal looks too good to be true, it most probably is.

Packaging: Look out for:

1. Poor quality labelling, including things like spelling mistakes. 
2. UK duty stamp—spirits in bottles 35cl or larger and 30% ABV or higher have to have a duty stamp, which indicates that tax has either been paid or is due to be paid on the contents of the bottle. They’re usually incorporated into the label or stuck on the glass. If it’s not there, it’s illegal
3. Properly sealed caps. If the seal is broken, don’t drink it. Even if it’s not illegal, it could have been tampered with. 
4. Fake bar codes. If you have an app on your mobile that scans bar codes, scan it and see if it’s listed as the correct product.

Product: Look out for fake versions of well-known brands and be wary of unusual brand names you haven’t seen before. Vodka, the most commonly counterfeited spirit, shouldn’t have any white particles or sediment in the bottle. If you see this, the vodka could have been diluted with tap water. If any alcohol tastes or smells bad, don't drink it. Particularly look out for the smell of nail varnish.

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More Sex Improves Mental Health

Scientists have alerted that having more sex could seriously boost wellbeing by strengthening immune systems, lowering blood pressure and even boosting memories. These findings were drawn from several studies. Drawing from the findings of several studies, scientists uncovered many ways sexual activities boosts healthy living.

According to scientists from Wilkes University, Pennsylvania in the United States, U.S., having sex once or twice a week increases antibody levels in humans by 30 per cent.
 
This is thought to be due to sexually active people being more exposed to bacteria and viruses, resulting in greater antibody release.

An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein produced mainly by plasma cells that is used by the immune system to neutralise pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.
Antibodies are proteins used by the immune system to protect against colds and flu. Similarly, getting active sexually increases heart rate, which peaks during an orgasm.

Men in their 50s who have sex at least twice a week have a 45 per cent reduced risk of heart disease, according to scientists at New England Research Institutes, Massachusetts in the United States,U.S. A study by Michigan State University found women aged between 57 and 85 who still enjoyed sex were less likely to have high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
 
According to the researchers at the University of Munster, Germany, migraine sufferers report a 60 per cent improvement in pain after sexual activity. Cluster headaches, which cause excruciating pain in one side of the face, improve by 37 per cent.

“Sex triggers the release of ‘feel good’ hormones called endorphins that relieve pain,” added the researchers.
In a related study, scientists at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland found that men who ejaculate at least 21 times a month are a third less likely to develop the disease than men who only release four to seven times.

Frequent ejaculation may allow the prostate to clear out cancer-causing substances or it may prevent the development of calcium deposits, which are associated with prostate cancer.

Furthermore, sex releases a cocktail of chemicals in the brain, including oxytocin and prolactin and the combination of the two are thought to aid relaxation, helping affected persons to nod off.

Scientists at the University of Paisley, Scotland found that people who had recently had sex had lower blood pressure when public speaking than those who had not had intercourse in the past fortnight.

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Modified Pig Organs May Correct Birth Defects In Infants - Experts

A team of doctors in Britain have perfected the use of modified pig organs to treat newborn babies with birth defects. Babies born missing a section of their oesophagus, the tube linking the mouth to the stomach, are to receive the transplants harvested from pigs and then modified using the child’s stem cells.

‘The Australian’ reported that the landmark lifesaving treatment would be used next year at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London on about 10 children born with severe cases of oesophageal atresia (EA). Similarly, the research team also plans to develop the treatment for adults suffering oesophageal cancer, a far more common and often fatal condition. Esophageal atresia (EA) is a congenital defect, meaning that it occurs before birth.

There are several types. In most cases, the upper oesophagus ends and does not connect with the lower oesophagus and stomach.

Most infants with EA have another defect called tracheoesophageal fistula. Oesophageal atresia can be diagnosed in the foetus at about 20 weeks.
The first children for next year’s trial could be identified in coming months. Oesophagi of varying sizes have been taken from pigs at a British farm in readiness.

These “animal scaffolds” will be modified to remove all their cells. They will then be re-engineered using the child’s stem cells, making them suitable for transplant and avoiding rejection by the patient’s body.


The stem cells will be taken the moment after birth from the babies’ muscle and residual oesophagus. The tissue engineering takes about eight weeks and doctors hope to implant the modified oesophagi at about two to three months after the child is born.

Although 90 per cent of oesophageal atresia cases are treatable via a relatively simple procedure to close the gap, in severe cases the only option is for doctors to surgically move the child’s stomach into the chest cavity.
This can create complications throughout the patient’s life and place them at a greater risk of oesophageal cancer, according to Paolo De Coppi, a consultant pediatric surgeon at Great Ormond Street who is behind the new treatment. Professor De Coppi previously pioneered a similarly groundbreaking transplant in 2010 in which a 13-year-old boy was given a new trachea that was created from a deceased human donor using the teenager’s stem cells.

“This is completely new. Pigs have been used for heart valve replacement for many years, but nobody has received an organ developed from an ‘animal scaffold’ this way,” he said.

Professor De Coppi is also developing a treatment to help children born with shortened bowels, which will again use pig organs and stem cells, either harvested from the bowel or even the child’s skin, to build a new intestine for transplants. He hopes to introduce this in 2020.

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Noncommunicable Diseases Kill Over 40 Million People Each Year - WHO

The following is the recent report of the World Health Organizations (WHO) submission on the fatality of noncommunicable diseases. According to the body, NCD's Kill Over 40 Million people each year.

Overview

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behaviours factors.
The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.
NCDs disproportionately affect people in low- and middle-income countries where more than three quarters of global NCD deaths – 31 million – occur.

Who is at risk of such diseases?

People of all age groups, regions and countries are affected by NCDs. These conditions are often associated with older age groups, but evidence shows that 17 million of all deaths attributed to NCDs occur before the age of 70. Of these "premature" deaths, 87% are estimated to occur in low- and middle-income countries. Children, adults and the elderly are all vulnerable to the risk factors contributing to NCDs, whether from unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, exposure to tobacco smoke or the harmful use of alcohol.
These diseases are driven by forces that include rapid unplanned urbanization, globalization of unhealthy lifestyles and population ageing. Unhealthy diets and a lack of physical activity may show up in people as raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose, elevated blood lipids and obesity. These are called metabolic risk factors that can lead to cardiovascular disease, the leading NCD in terms of premature deaths.

Risk factors

Modifiable behavioural risk factors

Modifiable behaviours, such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol, all increase the risk of NCDs.

• Tobacco accounts for 7.2 million deaths every year (including from the effects of exposure to second-hand smoke), and is projected to increase markedly over the coming years. (1)
• 4.1 million annual deaths have been attributed to excess salt/sodium intake. (1)
• More than half of the 3.3 million annual deaths attributable to alcohol use are from NCDs, including cancer. (2)
• 1.6 million deaths annually can be attributed to insufficient physical activity. (1)

Metabolic risk factors

Metabolic risk factors contribute to four key metabolic changes that increase the risk of NCDs:

• raised blood pressure
• overweight/obesity
• hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) and
• hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood).

In terms of attributable deaths, the leading metabolic risk factor globally is elevated blood pressure (to which 19% of global deaths are attributed), (1) followed by overweight and obesity and raised blood glucose.

What are the socioeconomic impacts of NCDs?

NCDs threaten progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a target of reducing premature deaths from NCDs by one-third by 2030.
Poverty is closely linked with NCDs. The rapid rise in NCDs is predicted to impede poverty reduction initiatives in low-income countries, particularly by increasing household costs associated with health care. Vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people get sicker and die sooner than people of higher social positions, especially because they are at greater risk of being exposed to harmful products, such as tobacco, or unhealthy dietary practices, and have limited access to health services.
In low-resource settings, health-care costs for NCDs quickly drain household resources. The exorbitant costs of NCDs, including often lengthy and expensive treatment and loss of breadwinners, force millions of people into poverty annually and stifle development.

Prevention and control of NCDs

An important way to control NCDs is to focus on reducing the risk factors associated with these diseases. Low-cost solutions exist for governments and other stakeholders to reduce the common modifiable risk factors. Monitoring progress and trends of NCDs and their risk is important for guiding policy and priorities.
To lessen the impact of NCDs on individuals and society, a comprehensive approach is needed requiring all sectors, including health, finance, transport, education, agriculture, planning and others, to collaborate to reduce the risks associated with NCDs, and promote interventions to prevent and control them.
Investing in better management of NCDs is critical. Management of NCDs includes detecting, screening and treating these diseases, and providing access to palliative care for people in need. High impact essential NCD interventions can be delivered through a primary health care approach to strengthen early detection and timely treatment. Evidence shows such interventions are excellent economic investments because, if provided early to patients, they can reduce the need for more expensive treatment.
Countries with inadequate health insurance coverage are unlikely to provide universal access to essential NCD interventions. NCD management interventions are essential for achieving the global target of a 25% relative reduction in the risk of premature mortality from NCDs by 2025, and the SDG target of a one-third reduction in premature deaths from NCDs by 2030.

WHO response

WHO's leadership and coordination role

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes NCDs as a major challenge for sustainable development. As part of the Agenda, Heads of State and Government committed to develop ambitious national responses, by 2030, to reduce by one-third premature mortality from NCDs through prevention and treatment (SDG target 3.4). This target comes from the High-level Meetings of the UN General Assembly on NCDs in 2011 and 2014, which reaffirmed WHO’s leadership and coordination role in promoting and monitoring global action against NCDs. The UN General Assembly will convene a third High-level Meeting on NCDs in 2018 to review progress and forge consensus on the road ahead covering the period 2018-2030.
To support countries in their national efforts, WHO developed a Global action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2020, which includes nine global targets that have the greatest impact on global NCD mortality. These targets address prevention and management of NCDs.

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Zamfara State Officials In Trouble Over Missing Meningitis Vaccines

Two officials of Bungudu local council in Zamfara have been ordered to produce the missing Meningitis vaccines allocated to the area or be sanctioned.

The affected officials are the local council’s director of Health, Rabiu Dansadau and the Councillor of Health, Sanusi Umar.

The Chairman of the State Sub-Committee for the Procurement, Management and Distribution of Meningitis drugs and vaccines, Alhaji Aliyu Kagara said on Monday in Bungudu that the committee had discovered massive diversion of the vaccines meant for the area.

He said that a total of 400 I.V injections meningitis vaccines was allocated to the area, but only 30 of the vaccines were accounted for.

“When the committee visited the local government it discovered that 30 persons were treated and there was no trace of the remaining 370 vaccines.

“The two officials must return the drugs and offer convincing explanation of what happened,” Kagara said.
The chairman said that, so far, the affected officials have failed to give satisfactory explanation as to the whereabout of the remaining drugs.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that patients had a week ago told Gov. Abdulaziz Yari when he visited some meningitis isolation centres that they used their money to buy the drugs which was supposed to be free.

NAN learnt that patients pay up N1,000 per vaccine, to get treated.

The governor has already set up a committee under the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Abdullahi Shinkafi to investigate the matter, while the State House of Assembly has also set up its own investigation committee.

A total of 346 people have died of meningitis and 3,145 infected since the reported outbreak of the disease in Zamfara.

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Ekiti State Increases Maternity Leave For Women In Civil Service

The Ekiti State Government (Nigeria) on Monday announced an increase in the maternity leave period for women in its public service from 12 weeks to 16 weeks.

The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Information, Youth and Sports Development, Mr Kola Ajumobi, said this at a public enlightenment forum in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

He said that the gesture was approved by the state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, as part of his display of love and special regard for the womenfolk in the state.

He said it was also aimed at encouraging exclusive breastfeeding for newly born children in the first six months of birth.

 It is also meant to promote good nutrition for both mothers and their newborn children, he said.

Ajumobi said that nursing mothers would, in addition to the four months, be granted two hours’ off duty every day for a period of six months from the date they resumed from maternity leave.

According to him, the commitment of the Fayose-led administration to the reduction in mothers and children’s mortality and morbidity rate to the barest minimum remains sacrosanct.

Ajumobi said the crèche at the state secretariat had also been invigorated to boost bonding between mothers and their children during official working hours without undue hindrance to performance and efficiency at the workplace.

The permanent secretary lamented that lack of good nutrition; poverty, hunger as well as the lack of access to economic and political empowerment had largely contributed to high maternal and child mortality.

He, however, noted that the present administration in the state would continue to roll out various palliative packages exclusively for women to empower and guard them against avoidable travails.

Ajumobi said such measures already in existence include the provision of N500million as revolving soft-loan to promote small and medium Enterprises driven by women.

Also, women farmers were being supported with various incentives, he said. According to him, the government has also encouraged women’s access to political power. 

Harmful traditional practices to woman’s nutritional and sexual reproductive health, such as widowhood rites and inheritance had become criminal offences in the state, he said.

He also said that rapists and wife beaters now face life sentences in the state.

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