The Guyana Consumers Association says it will be working with the government to eliminate the practice of the marketing of low quality and dangerous drugs here.
In a press release, the Association said it is pursuing educational efforts on informing the public of such unethical drug promotion and of the various types of false trademark drugs shipped to Guyana from some third world countries.
The Association said it is pursuing these efforts in honour of World Consumer Rights Day which was observed yesterday under the theme ‘Unethical drug promotion’. The Association said “there is a great deal of unethical drug promotion and sale” in Guyana and other developing countries and this practice is done without regard for the injury to life and health which the sale of such drugs may cause as the sellers and manufacturers are only concerned about profit.
The release said in the developed world, where all of the big corporations are based, claims of “self-regulation” seems to give way to the lure and temptation of profits and a variety of means, including advertising and free product samples are used to promote these drugs.
Misleading information and false claims about a drug are often disseminated through these mediums and information about side-effects and risks suppressed. The Association also said doctors are sometimes given financial incentives to prescribe these drugs and they often use disease awareness campaigns to promote them rather than to promote health.