The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) has raised a red flag over the increased advertising of medicines, on social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter saying it is in contravention of laid down statutes.
The advertisement of medicines is governed by section(s) 65(1)(b) and 65(3) of the Medicines and Allied Substances Control (General) Regulations, 1991, (S.I. 150 of 1991). According to MCAZ, an advertisement according to the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act (Chapter 15:03) in relation to any medicine, means any written, pictorial, visual, or other descriptive matter or verbal statement or reference.
In a statement, the authority said advertisement should be: “Appearing in any newspaper or other publication; or appearing on any television or cinematograph film; or distributed to members of the public; or brought to the notice of members of the public in any manner whatsoever; which is intended to promote the sale of that medicine.”
MCAZ said section 65(1)(b) states that no person shall advertise any other medicine without the approval of the authority in writing. It also said section 65(3) states that no person shall advertise any medicine to members of the public calculated to lead to its use for the treatment of human beings for any of the conditions set out in the seventh schedule.
The authority added: “Any person who contravenes the provisions of these regulations, other than a provision for the contravention of which a penalty is provided by subsection (3) of section 38 or subsection (2a) of section 39 of the Act, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level seven or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.”
Part of the statement read that the authority working with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) will take necessary measures including prosecution should anyone contravene those provisions. MCAZ urged members of the public to desist from advertising medicines without written approval from them and encouraged stakeholders to report such cases.
Meanwhile, recently MCAZ also warned the public against unsafe use of glutathione and injectable vitamins as skin lightning agents. MCAZ director general Mr Richard Rukwata said to date there were no published clinical trials that have evaluated the use of oral/injectable glutathione and injectable vitamins for skin lightening.
“The MCAZ warns the public on the dangers associated with the use of skin lightening products such as oral /injectable glutathione and injectable vitamins. To date there are no published clinical trials that have evaluated the use of oral/injectable Glutathione and injectable Vitamins for skin lightening.
“There are also no published guidelines for appropriate dosing regimens and duration of treatment. Glutathione and vitamins are registrable products and the MCAZ has not approved/registered any injectable products or such products for skin lightening,” said Mr Rukwata.
He said the side effects on the use of injectable glutathione for skin lightening include toxic effects on the liver, kidneys, and the nervous system.
Furthermore, Mr Rukwata said the side effects may include severe skin reactions such as Stevens Johnson syndrome, hives or allergic reactions, weight gain, losing pigmentation of hair, eye infections and disorders.
MCAZ is a statutory body established by an act of Parliament, The Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act (MASCA) [Chapter 15.03]. It houses the National Pharmacovigilance Centre which participates in the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring.
The National Pharmacovigilance Centre is also responsible for monitoring the safety of medicines on the Zimbabwean market, and encourages anyone who has experienced an adverse reaction (side effect) to report to the MCAZ
