“A Consuming Evil”: Fake Products Ravaging Nigerian Bodies — Doctors

Nigerian medical professionals have issued urgent warnings about the severe health risks of counterfeit goods, linking fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods to organ damage, cardiac complications and preventable deaths nationwide.

Manufacturers are also counting losses as the counterfeit goods crisis wreaks havoc on legitimate businesses, with experts calling for tougher penalties and stronger NAFDAC enforcement.

A Crisis of Confidence

Nigerians are facing serious health risks from consuming fake goods, while industries are currently taking an economic hit, as doctors raise the alarm over unwholesome consumer goods caused by counterfeiting.

Online discourse surrounding the rise of fake items reached a fever pitch over the past weekend.

Nigerians, including influencers like Scott Iguma and Aproko Doctor, raised the alarm over the rise of these counterfeited materials.

Social media posts have gone viral about fake toothpastes, creams, contaminated bottled water and adulterated yoghurt drinks.

The Health Toll

Medical and pharmaceutical experts said counterfeit drugs and unwholesome processed foods were causing organ damage, cardiac complications and preventable deaths nationwide.

The former Chairman, Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr Babajide Saheed, described the trend as alarming and long-standing.

“This is an unfortunate and dangerous trend that has happened in this country for a very long time. It is not a new thing, and the government must do something about it,” Saheed said.

He linked fake drugs to a rise in renal failure, cardiac problems and mental health complications, noting that ineffective medicines forced patients to spend more on treatment while distorting national health statistics.

“You cannot get a proper statistical progress of any ailment if you continue with this type of counterfeit drug,” he said.

A Call for a State of Emergency

Saheed called for a state-of-emergency-style response from government agencies, including the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria and NAFDAC.

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“Let these people do their work, not by paper, not by pronouncing what they do not do. It is an urgent issue; nobody is immune to it,” the doctor stressed.

The Economic Impact

On his part, the former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Olumide Akintayo, blamed weak penalties under the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Decree for emboldening offenders.

“The penalties are very ridiculous. You pay a fine of half a million naira,” Akintayo said, adding that stiffer sentences, including asset forfeiture, were needed to deter offenders.

“If the penalties are feeble, then you are incentivising people to commit that crime,” he said.

Akintayo said regulators were also failing to enforce existing laws, citing the absence of routine inspections of pharmacies and drug outlets.

“Which of the regulatory agencies has ever visited a peri-urban area to check the quality of drugs unlawfully sold there?” he asked.

He urged consumers to buy only from registered pharmacies and to demand evidence of licensing.

“It has become a consuming evil because it is consuming our people,” Akintayo said.

Aproko Doctor’s Warning

Health influencer Dr Chinonso Egemba, popularly known as Aproko Doctor, called for stronger regulation on the X platform.

“The whole conversation around fake products is exactly why we advocate frequently for regulation. You cannot expect the average Nigerian to be a food scientist, pharmacist, chemist, and product inspector before they can safely buy toothpaste, food, or medicine,” he said.

He called on the agencies, including NAFDAC and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, stating:

“The market needs to be properly regulated, fake products need to be taken off the shelves, and people putting Nigerians’ lives at risk need to be held accountable. We should not have to gamble with our health every time we go to the market.”

A Lesson for Nigeria

The counterfeit goods crisis is a reminder that Nigerians are being poisoned in plain sight.

For Nigeria, the lesson is clear: regulation saves lives. The same leaders who fail to enforce standards will never allow their own children to be victims of this crisis.

Demand regulation. Hold agencies accountable. And never forget that your health is not a gamble.