The challenges that come with medicine peddlers

However, Your Health has learnt of the extent to which the petty trading of unregulated medication has gotten to and peddlers of these meds go as far as visiting individual homes to sell and direct people how to use these unregulated medications.

What is clear though is the fact that these are not, in any way or capacity, professional doctors or qualified health practitioners that they should be able to give instructions on how to use the medicines and are not known to regulatory bodies.

Furthermore, it is well known that storage of medication should be controlled and they need to be kept in a place that is not exposed to moisture and extreme heat so that they remain safe for human use.

Medicine peddlers

Bahati James*, a local peddler, says he has been selling food supplements and some human medicines, including the medicine Artemisinin, locally known as dawa mseto za malaria that is used to treat malaria.

"I never knew that it was wrong to sell these medicines. What I thought was that because these medicines are popular, people will know how to use them even if they don't get a doctor's prescription," he says.

He adds: "I have not started this business here (Dar es Salaam); I started in Mwanza. I have never met anyone who told me that I am not allowed to sell human medicines like these or that I’m just allowed to sell food supplements."

He says that when he started selling supplements on the street that were manufactured by one of the companies in Mwanza, together with six of his colleagues, they got the idea to increase the scope of their business by selling painkillers and medicines that are popular among people, including Artemisinin medicines.

"I was only looking at the business angle, I never thought of the health angle, and because I have never received any criticism from customers, I believed I was right," he says.

He adds: "Now that I've been told it's wrong, I'm quitting so I don't get into trouble with the authorities."

Goodluck David*, another local peddler, says he has been in the business of selling food supplements and human medicines including, medicines to treat worms, called Albendazole, Cetirizine for flu treatment, painkillers such as Panadol, Hedex, and Dawa Tatu.

"I'm not a doctor so I don't know much about the use of medicines. I go to people's residences and announce that I sell painkillers which they buy. Most of them say it's good to stay with them for health emergencies and it's not a problem because they know how to use them," he says.

He shares that many young people who sell food supplements think it is alright to sell painkillers and popular human medicines because they are not educated that it is wrong to do so.

"Most of us don't know that it's wrong to do this that's why we sell them but had we known better, we wouldn't have dared to sell," he says.

Doctors’ concerns

Dr Fabian Lucas, a doctor at Sengerema District Hospital in Mwanza says buying medicine on the street can easily mean a person is given the wrong medicine for the treatment of the disease bothering them.

"Someone sells you medicine and then goes away so if they have given you the wrong medicine, they probably won’t care because for them, it’s just business and there is no need for them to keep up with what happens to you next," he says.

"That's different from buying medicine at a pharmacy or natural medicine clinic, where you can explain your illness or give the pharmacist the doctor's prescription so that he can provide you with the right treatment," he explains.

He went on to say that in the case of peddlers, patients are often given medication that is not in proportion with their needs such as their weight, age of gravity of their medical problem.

"Medicines have their measurements. We medical practitioners are the ones who understand how to properly administer medication so buying medicine from random petty traders can cause you to get your dose wrong due to their lack of medical understanding and training," he says.

Moreover, he adds that when a patient is given the wrong medicine, it can cause more health problems and in the worst case scenario, may even cause death.

"If medicines are used incorrectly, they are more dangerous because they can kill the patient instead of curing them," he emphasises.

He says that when medicines are not used correctly, they produce toxins in the body and create chronic health problems that can torment the patient to death.

"Medicines are good if they are used correctly, or if they are proven to cure a person's problems," he explains.

He insists that people need to develop a culture of doing regular medical check-ups and use properly prescribed medicine from medical practitioners and purchase them in registered pharmacies to avoid further problems.

He also added that depending on the problem, when a person is given medicine with instructions on how to use them, they are also able get necessary counselling from a therapist.

What do the authorities say?

The spokesperson of TMDA, Gaudensia Simwanza says the procedure for the sale of medicines must be confirmed by TMDA and TBS to ensure that they are safe for human use.

"The relevant authorities are the only ones who the mandate to state which medicines can be used and which ones need to be banned due to various medical reasons, quality or standard issues,” she says.

“That is the only way we can protect the public," she adds.

She continues to explain that medicines are reviewed and tested according to set medical standards and criteria and then the decision on their consumption is made.

She also added that what is also allowed in distribution from various companies to people's homes is food supplements and not medicines needed to treat various diseases.

Food supplements are allowed to be sold because they are there to help humans gain lacking nutrients.

"These are allowed because they are not classified as medicines, but it is not correct to sell medicines in the streets," she explains.

She adds: "The safety of these medicines cannot be assured due to the environment they are exposed to such as walking with them in extreme heat, different from the temperature required for storage of human medicines,"

She says: “Medicines should not be stored in extreme heat or humidity; instead they should be kept dry and cool to keep them safe for consumption.”

She says with those parameters, it is clear that safe places for medicines are pharmacies because they adhere to both regulations and storage requirements.

“It is also easy to be held accountable if they go against the procedures for health service providers, especially in the sale of medicines," she explains.

She went on to warn that those doing such business can be penalised in accordance to the country's laws and can be jailed for up to 6 years, be fined not less than Sh20 million, or both.

"Medicines are not something to sell in any way that people decide to sell, in fact, medicines can kill," she adds.

However, she advises citizens to avoid buying medicine from just about anyone and instead should buy it in the designated areas.

"Citizens should buy medicines from pharmacies and natural medicine clinics only,” she says.

She says there are many side effects to using medicines contrary to medical instructions.

She continues: “Those who sell medicines on the street are not doctors as such, whenever anybody sees them, please do report them immediately.”

“They should be held accountable for their mistakes in order to completely eradicate this practice in the country," she explained.