By Kamsi Anayo
The Anambra State Government has placed a ban on the advertisement of all forms of herbal drugs in the state.
Before the ban, the state was being ridiculed as a place where first visitors would be greeted with open advertisement of herbal medicine in motor parks and other strategic places in the state.
Herbal medicine (Agbo) are products made from botanicals, or plants, that are used to treat diseases or to maintain health. A medicinal product made from plants and used for curative or preventive purposes is called an herbal supplement.
For a very long time, many residents have often depended on herbal medicine, popularly called “Agbo”, as a remedy to a range of illnesses and diseases.
This is common for people living in rural settlements. Agbo has been used as a cure for many diseases and continues to be popular even in urban areas.
In recent times, however, attention has been brought to the increasing number of people suffering from Kidney failure. This has been attributed to the indiscriminate use of Herbal medicine (Agbo).
In a statement in that respect to the ban of open advertisement of herbal medicine in the state by the state Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu, the government had mandated that all advertisements for herbal drugs must be approved by the office of the special Adviser to the Governor on Herbal medicine and Pharmaceuticals before they could be displayed in any public space or media platform.