NAFDAC, Rivers State office and NAFDAC–NYSC CDS Group have carried out joint market sensitization in major markets in Port Harcourt as part of their Community Development Service (CDS).

The CDS group in company of NAFDAC officers visited Mile 1 Rail line market and Slaughter
market Rumuokoro, where they enlightened market women and traders against the use of
potassium carbide in ripening fruits, drug abuse, use of hard drugs, adding of azo dye in palm oil
etc.
The NYSC CDS Group and NAFDAC staff told the market women and traders the dangers
inherent in ripening fruits with potassium carbide and colouring palm oil with azo dye which
can led to renal diseases and cancer.
They were also told to only buy and sell vitamin A fortified vegetable oil, flour and sugar which
can be identified by the eye logo and iodized salt also identified by Nigerian map. “Stop drug
abuse by only taking drugs as prescribed by your doctor, say no to hard drugs and buy only
NAFDAC registered products,” they sang as they moved round the market.
The CDS Group carried posters with the inscriptions: “Say No to Drug Abuse,” “Drug Ruin Life,”
“Tramadol, Purple, Codeine, Cocaine, Opium…are not your friends” etc.
The NAFDAC-NYSC CDS Group was formed in 2012 as part of NAFDAC’s efforts to enlighten the
public on her activities and spread its campaign against fake and counterfeit/falsified regulated
products down to the grass root and also meaningfully engage the corps members during their
service year.