MORE BRONG AHAFO YOUTH PATRONISE APHRODISIACS (PAGE 21, MIRROR, NOV 13, 2010)

From Samuel Duodu, Sunyani.

The use of aphrodisiacs or sex enhancement drugs is said to be on the increase in the Brong Ahafo Region, especially among the youth.
The Sunyani Zonal Officer of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), Mrs Nora Narkie Terlabie, said this in an interaction with newsmen in Sunyani prior to the destruction of expired, substandard drugs, as well as food, cosmetics and medical devices worth GH¢14,252.75 at the Sunyani Landfill site last Tuesday.
Mrs Terlabie, who is in charge of the FDB in the Brong Ahafo Region, said the region had been flooded with aphrodisiacs and that everywhere one went, one could meet three or four people, especially young men, selling the drugs either to their counterparts or some elderly men.
According to her, most of the seized drugs meant for destruction by her outfit were aphrodisiacs.
She said on her visit to one of the district assembly offices in the region, she met a young man selling aphrodisiacs on the premises.
Mrs Terlabie said members of her team seized the drugs the young man was selling, adding that they were surprised to see that some staff of the assembly who patronised the drugs came forward to plead for the release of the seized drugs to the young man.
According to her, those officials who intervened for her to release the drugs to the young man told her that he had been going to the district assembly office almost every day to sell the drugs and there had not been any negative report made about the drugs by those who patronised them.
That, Mrs Terlabie said was the situation in the region which was hampering the efforts of the FDB to live up to its mandate of ensuring public safety.
She added that most of the aphrodisiacs on the market were not registered and had Chinese inscribed on them, which was against FDB’s regulations.
She, therefore, cautioned the public against the use and patronage of those unregistered aphrodisiacs, since they posed a serious health risk to the users and were also against public safety.
She stated further that it was an offence to peddle any drug, including aphrodisiacs, and urged those who wanted to buy any drug for use, including aphrodisiacs, to go for them at pharmacies and licensed chemical shops.
Mrs Terlabie also advised the public to be vigilant when buying any product, especially imported biscuits, drinks, cooking oil, canned foods and frozen meat and fish, for the Christmas festivities, since most of those items might be expired.
“When you are buying any of these items during the Christmas festivities, you should look for the expiry dates on them. For canned foods, you must ensure that the can is not dented or rusted, while for drinks you must ensure that the lid or the seal is not opened and leaking,” she stated.