Nigeria - Regulation and Control of Food & Drug Marketing

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is the agency charged with regulating and controlling the importation, exportation, manufacturing, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled water and chemicals. This agency recently published the following regulations dealing with foods and drugs. The regulations are:

Drug Products Advertisement Regulations
Pre-packaged Food (Labeling) Regulations
Bottled Water (Advertisement) Regulations
Food Products Registration Regulations
Bottled Water (Labeling) Regulations

Briefly, the thrust of these regulations is to protect members of the public by providing, inter alia, that:

food products and drug products must be registered with NAFDAC before they can be sold or advertised in Nigeria;
the labeling of any product must indicate the name of the product and the constituents of or ingredients in the product as well as the manufacturer of the product;
the expiry date of any product must be indicated on its packaging;
the trademark, or advertising of any product must not misrepresent the nature, qualities or origin of the product or be otherwise misleading;
information regarding ionization or other special treatment of pre-packaged food must be provided;
for food products, details of any nutritional claim must be stated on labeling;
advertisements for drug products must have the prior clearance and approval of NAFDAC;
labeling or advertising statements claiming or implying a superlative function may not be used unless the statements can be substantiated;
directions for use must be provided with packaging; for drug products, indications for use as well as contra-indications must also be provided;
no advertisement may claim that a drug is for the treatment, prevention or cure of any of a list of 65 diseases, disorders or abnormal physical states;
prescription drugs may not be advertised to the public.

Post Script

The following regulations have also been published:

Cosmetic and Medical Devices (Advertisement) Regulations
Bottled Water Registration Regulations
Pesticide Registration Regulations
Non-Nutritive Sweeteners in Food Products Regulations
Non-Nutritive Sweeteners in Drug Products (Prohibition) Regulations
Food Products (Advertisement) Regulations
Food Grade (Table or Cooking) Salt Regulations
Cosmetic Product (Prohibition of Bleaching Agents, etc.) Regulations

Nigeria - Regulation and Control of Food & Drug Marketing

Drug Products Advertisement Regulations
Pre-packaged Food (Labeling) Regulations
Bottled Water (Advertisement) Regulations
Food Products Registration Regulations
Bottled Water (Labeling) Regulations

Briefly, the thrust of these regulations is to protect members of the public by providing, inter alia, that:

food products and drug products must be registered with NAFDAC before they can be sold or advertised in Nigeria;
the labeling of any product must indicate the name of the product and the constituents of or ingredients in the product as well as the manufacturer of the product;
the expiry date of any product must be indicated on its packaging;
the trademark, or advertising of any product must not misrepresent the nature, qualities or origin of the product or be otherwise misleading;
information regarding ionization or other special treatment of pre-packaged food must be provided;
for food products, details of any nutritional claim must be stated on labeling;
advertisements for drug products must have the prior clearance and approval of NAFDAC;
labeling or advertising statements claiming or implying a superlative function may not be used unless the statements can be substantiated;
directions for use must be provided with packaging; for drug products, indications for use as well as contra-indications must also be provided;
no advertisement may claim that a drug is for the treatment, prevention or cure of any of a list of 65 diseases, disorders or abnormal physical states;
prescription drugs may not be advertised to the public.

Post Script

The following regulations have also been published:

Cosmetic and Medical Devices (Advertisement) Regulations
Bottled Water Registration Regulations
Pesticide Registration Regulations
Non-Nutritive Sweeteners in Food Products Regulations
Non-Nutritive Sweeteners in Drug Products (Prohibition) Regulations
Food Products (Advertisement) Regulations
Food Grade (Table or Cooking) Salt Regulations
Cosmetic Product (Prohibition of Bleaching Agents, etc.) Regulations