The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) is clamping down on unregistered drug stores in Owerri and other parts of Imo State, it was learnt.
The action, according to the council, is to check the sale of fake drugs.
Four hundred and thirty one unregistered pharmaceutical outlets have been shut for engaging in unwholesome acts.
The Director of Inspection and Monitoring, Anthonia Aruya, said the council would continue the exercise to prevent unregistered pharmaceutical shops from operating.
She said: “At the end of the exercise, 522 premises comprising 103 pharmacies and 419 pharmaceutical outlets were visited, out of which 431 premises were shut.”
Aruya said the agency was working in line with the National Drug Distribution Policies of the Federal Government “to ensure that quality, safety and efficacy of medicine are maintained down to the distribution chain. That is, adhering to the standard of practice, from the condition of storage set by drug manufacturers to the practice provided by the organisation till it gets to the end users.”
She said buying drugs from unlicensed pharmaceutical outlets might be unhealthy to people, adding: “Most of them lack the knowledge and skills to handle medicines.”
The director advised the public to be conscious of their safety and ask for the licence of any pharmaceutical shop before purchasing drugs.