The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has issued an advisory on how to spot illegal chemists in the country.
According to a statement shared on Saturday, June 11, chemists bearing no names on display is a key pointer to an illegal pharmaceutical outlet.
PPB also added that chemists operating without displaying healthy safety codes that show their registration details is a sign of an illegal outlet. According to the board, the registration details help consumers verify the illegality of the facility.
"The Pharmacy and Poisons Board wishes to guide the public that chemists bearing no names on display is a key pointer to illegal pharmaceutical outlets," the Pharmacy Board explained.
Rebranded chemists without proper names display as approved by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board is also a red flag.
"We are advising the public to verify the registration details of pharmacy practitioners from the PPB website and also to report unregistered practitioners through their official website," the board explained.
Other than physical chemists, there are online platforms that are not approved by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
They are classified as scams usually promoting drugs and treatments that can be delivered without the need for a prescription or at cheap prices.
Some use the names of popular social networks to make their e-mails appear authentic.
The advisory follows a joint crackdown between the pharmaceuticals regulatory and the National Police Service (NPS) which has seen at least 72 individuals accused of operating illegal chemists arrested.
During the operation, illegal assorted medical products worth Ksh16 million were seized.
"Our focus is to thwart irregular pharmaceutical practices in the identified areas and enforce closure of non-compliant pharmaceutical premises which were previously closed down," the board explained.
According to Pharmacy and Poisons Board, the major outcome of the operation is to enhance surveillance and enforcement of good distribution practices in the country.
"Operations in pharmaceutical outlets should at all times be supervised by qualified personnel and the risk of exposing the public to unsafe medicines avoided at all cost," the Board stated after concluding the operation.
