Misuse of drugs is criminalâ€" doctor
Experts on drugs have condemned the use of human medicine as rat poison.
By Malime Wa Gamusi
Experts on drugs have condemned the use of human medicine as rat poison.
An official from the National Drug Authority (NDA) who requested anonymity was referring to media reports that people had successfully used indocid capsules to kill rats in her house.
“Indocid is a drug meant for human beings and not animals. How did she zero on it as a rat poison?’’ the official asked. The capsule is a painkiller and it is drug abuse to use it on animals.
“Use medicine when you are sure it is needed and when you are sure how to use it,’’ said the NDA official.
Dr Johnson Acon, a lecturer of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Makerere University, said of the incident, “People sometimes use the best medicines in the wrong way, so that they do more harm than good. Medicine benefits the person using it, if used correctly for the right disease.’’
He added that, ‘Hajjat was lucky not to be apprehended, because she is a criminal answerable to the Police.
Dr Acon said, a rat eating one capsule of indocid is like a human being eating more than 50 of them at once.
“Anything kills, even water if you take it in excess.’’ He gave an example of quinine and aspirin as drugs that are used for abortion in universities and secondary schools.
He advised the public to discontinue using indocid to kill rats as each drug has a specific purpose. The NDA official said there is an operation going on to close illegal facilities, referring to the clinics that operate without licenses and those which employ unqualified staff.
Experts on drugs have condemned the use of human medicine as rat poison.
An official from the National Drug Authority (NDA) who requested anonymity was referring to media reports that people had successfully used indocid capsules to kill rats in her house.
“Indocid is a drug meant for human beings and not animals. How did she zero on it as a rat poison?’’ the official asked. The capsule is a painkiller and it is drug abuse to use it on animals.
“Use medicine when you are sure it is needed and when you are sure how to use it,’’ said the NDA official.
Dr Johnson Acon, a lecturer of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Makerere University, said of the incident, “People sometimes use the best medicines in the wrong way, so that they do more harm than good. Medicine benefits the person using it, if used correctly for the right disease.’’
He added that, ‘Hajjat was lucky not to be apprehended, because she is a criminal answerable to the Police.
Dr Acon said, a rat eating one capsule of indocid is like a human being eating more than 50 of them at once.
“Anything kills, even water if you take it in excess.’’ He gave an example of quinine and aspirin as drugs that are used for abortion in universities and secondary schools.
He advised the public to discontinue using indocid to kill rats as each drug has a specific purpose. The NDA official said there is an operation going on to close illegal facilities, referring to the clinics that operate without licenses and those which employ unqualified staff.