Janet Ogundepo
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has clarified that the agency does not allow the use of body organ images on registered products.
The clarification comes amid a viral video on social media with claims that NAFDAC approved a herbal tea touted to reverse the effect of smoking on smokers.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that the agency refuted this claim, describing it as “false and completely unfounded,” adding, “The product in question—Lung Detox Tea or Lungitox (Smokers Pride) or any similar product—is not registered by NAFDAC.”
The agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, in a statement said NAFDAC would investigate the company and prosecute the culprits.
Providing further insights about the product, Akintola said, “The product is NOT registered by NAFDAC. A company, however, submitted an application, but the name of the product was queried by LOD (Liaison Office of the Director responsible for receiving and processing applications for registering regulated products) and a Compliance Directive was given. They never resubmitted or responded to the query.
“Anti-smoke and lung detox tea was submitted in 2023. It was queried at LOD and was not resubmitted for processing. We don’t allow pictorials of organs on product artwork.”
He further noted that it was a criminal offence for manufacturers to put a fake NAFDAC registration number on their products.
Akintola said, “We will investigate and get the culprits prosecuted. The health of Nigerians is sacrosanct here. If you’re sure of the safety, efficacy, and potency of your formulation, you shouldn’t be avoiding going through the regulatory process.
“This particular product was presented to NAFDAC in 2023 but denied approval based on certain observations. The application was outrightly queried due to the unsubstantiated and dangerous claim that smoking could be made “healthy” by consuming the product. What they needed to do was to work on those things identified by our Lagos Office Directorate LOD and come back to re-present the product for registration. This would have validated it and given the promoters the licence to market it in the country.
“However, it’s criminal for any manufacturer of medical products or food as the case may be to fraudulently present a product to the public with a fake NAFDAC number. If detected, it’s not going to be treated with kid gloves by the DG, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye.”
Continuing, he explained that herbal products or related products were not allowed to make therapeutic claims unless they were scientifically validated.
“As a scientific and professional agency, NAFDAC will never permit the importation, exportation, manufacture, advertisement, distribution, sale, and use of products with claims that do not have any scientific basis.
“Herbal Products and any other related products are not allowed to make any therapeutic claims unless scientifically validated through proper clinical trial studies,” he said.
Akintayo restated the agency’s commitment to protecting public health and ensuring that only safe, effective, and scientifically substantiated products were approved.
“We condemn any attempt to mislead or endanger the public with false claims. The public is advised to disregard this video and report any suspicious claims or products to the Agency through our official channels,” he advised.
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