This is really scary, they need need NAFDAC in UK!


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7865569.stm



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Page last updated at 15:08 GMT, Tuesday, 3 February 2009
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How fake drugs got into the NHS 

By Paul Burnell
BBC File On 4 


It was the highest state of alert the government's medicines watchdog can issue. 
The MHRA issued four emergency drugs recall notices in June 2007

Eighteen months ago the Medicines Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued four of its Class One emergency recall notices in a matter of days to recoup thousands of packs of life saving drugs for stroke patients, men with prostate cancer and schizophrenics.

"Class One recall will be conducted where we've got some evidence to suggest we're dealing with a counterfeit medicine and it has got to patient level," Mick Deats head of enforcement at MHRA told BBC File On 4.

Three life saving medicines had to be recalled: Casodex, for prostate cancer, Plavix which is used for strokes and heart conditions and Zyprexa, which controls the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Said Mr Deats: "The meds involved had between 50-80% of the correct pharmaceutical ingredient in them."

Suppliers duped

A UK wholesaler spotted discrepancies in packaging of stock bought from in Europe.  Find Out More
Listen to File On 4, Radio 4 Tuesday 3 February 2009 2000 GMT, repeated Sunday 8 February 1700 GMT
Or catch up at Radio 4's Listen Again site

According to former industry investigator Graham Satchwell reputable companies were duped by sophisticated counterfeits.

"All three medicines would have pretended to be medicines that were destined for other European markets, in the case of Plavix they would be a in a French language pack."

He said medicines from other parts of Europe can be bought at lower prices, and UK businessman can import from the EU under an arrangement know as parallel trade, and then repackage drugs into English language packs.

By the time the counterfeits were spotted, they were already in the NHS supply chain, distributed to chemists, doctors and hospitals and dispensed to patients whose lives were already at risk because of their illness.

Mr Deats said the MHRA had seized 40,000 of the estimated 70,000 packs of the fake drugs in the supply chain but issued the recalls because the other drugs were not accounted for.   You can never tell if you have got it all. And don't forget we're not dealing with lawful manufacturers who know how much their batch contains

Mick Deats, head of enforcement MHRA

"They would have been consumed by the patients," he said.

But File on 4 discovered there is no effective way of systematically tracing which patients may have received these drugs.

No trace

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, confirmed that from wholesaler to chemist shops nobody is legally obliged to keep a record of drug batch numbers and the chemists do not keep records of which patient is dispensed drugs from which batch.

When the emergency was announced it was left to individual chemists to warn their regular patients.

Neither is it known if the 70,000 packs were part of a larger consignment or consignments.

"You can never tell if you have got it all. And don't forget we're not dealing with lawful manufacturers who know how much their batch contains," explained Mr Deats.

What is known is that the same batch numbers from the drugs were traced to the man at the centre of an international fake drugs ring, Kevin Xu, a citizen of the People's Republic of China and owner of Orient Pacific International.

Xu smuggled goods and trans-shipped them from China into another country, shielding them from customs investigations by packing them into drums of chemicals, and then shipping to various ports throughout Europe.

Unknown victims

Marcy Foreman director of the Office of Investigations for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE), told File On 4, "Mr Xu was a very sophisticated international businessman and he had a vast knowledge of the import and export requirements.

"And the bottom line is that his motivation was simply about the money and ultimate greed."

The MHRA said it has learned lessons about weaknesses in regulation, practice and EU directives following this and other cases it has investigated, although Mr Deats conceded this will be little consolation to any of the patients with serious illnesses who took any of the fake drugs.

American officials believe Kevin Xu had ambitions to to break into the US market, when he was arrested in a sting by ICE officers. He began a six and a half year jail sentence three weeks ago.

The fate of his potential British victims may never be known because no-one knows who took the drugs, and because of that, no-one knows whether anyone died as a result or what effect it has had on people's treatment.

People are funny sometimes,
Yes some parts of Naija is inevitably dirty,but problems reported generally seem to end with someone trying to point to western countries as examples of how it should be done, sadly it generally is done partially and some folks are still suprised when people get defensive,
In the west a lot of crap which is kept well under wraps goes on, at least in naija folks peeing the bushes when I compare it to some people in the west where there are accessible safe public toilets who will pee on the bus, on the road,on the pavements and vomit everywhere and anywhere because they got so damn drunk they had no control of their faculties on a weekend, or should we discuss the dog poo you will walk into if you dare take your eyes of the pathway, and ofcourse the regular crap is dropped on the road too like is done in naija, but you know what the difference between the west and naija,it's called having a local govt which pays people to clean the mess up daily,does naija have such fortitude ,where should the naija folks pee really with no public loos available, I just can't see this as a like for like comparism at all,
Naija govt has so much work to do,

Blessing Okagbare found out all about good fortune Friday night, winning the Olympic bronze medal in the long jump after being added to the final when another competitor was kicked out of the competition for doping.

The Nigerian made the most of her second chance, jumping a personal-best 22 feet, 8 inches (6.91 meters). Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil won gold and Russia’s Tatyana Lebedeva finished with the bronze.

“I’m the happiest woman here today on this track,” Okagbare said.

After failing to advance out of the qualifying round, the 19-year-old figured her shot at a medal was completely wiped out.

But then the International Olympic Committee announced that Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine tested positive for a steroid, and stripped Blonska of the Olympic heptathlon silver medal she earned last weekend.

Blonska also was removed from the long jump final, paving the way for Blessing’s entrance into the field. Okagbare had finished 13th in qualifying, one spot removed from the final 12.

Blessing vowed to show that she belonged.

“When I came in today, I was sure I would place,” Blessing said. “After the qualification, everyone was disappointed. Today, I knew I had to remove the shade from my eyes and do something.”

Blessing’s bronze-medal leap came on her first attempt of the finals. She couldn’t improve on it, fouling on her last attempt.

That mattered little.

---

Nigeria women's 4x100m relay quartet of Franca Idoko, Gloria Kemasuode, Halimat Ismaila, and African sprint champion Oludamola Osayomi this evening at the Beijing's Birds nest stadium snatched a bronze medal in a time of 43.04s.

The Barcelona 1992 bronze medalists only managed to qualified as one of the fastest losers from yesterday's semi-finals due to a near disastrous baton exchange between Gloria Kemasuode and Agnes Ozazuwa on the 3rd leg.

But, today with UTEP Senior Halimat Ismaila running in place of Ozasuwa benefitted from baton disasters by the highly favoured Jamaican and American quartets to pick third.

I know it's taken for granted that mothers would lay there lives down for their kids, but when cases like this happen,makes one think about how many kids are being smothered slowly but have no voice, God be merciful,

Jailed: Mother who left toddler son, two, alone in a flooded kitchen while she spent the weekend partying
By Fiona Barton
Last updated at 2:30 PM on 27th June 2008




Jailed: Kelly Tollerton abandoned her two-year-old son home alone for the weekend
A mother who left her toddler son imprisoned and alone in a flooded kitchen for three days while she went out 'to party', was today jailed for 18 months.

Kelly Tollerton, a 23-year-old single mother of two, showed no emotion as the judge spoke of her 'deplorable and disgraceful' act in leaving her two-year-old child to scavenge for food in the bin and sleep on a pile of dirty laundry, while she spent the weekend with her boyfriend.

Recorder William Harbage QC said: 'It defies belief that any mother can treat her child in that way. In my opinion, you are not a fit mother.'

During the trial, the jury at Lincoln Crown Court heard that the boy, who is now four and has 'emotional and behavioural difficulties', was only discovered, sobbing and shaking with cold, when he managed to turn on a tap and the water seeped into the flat downstairs.

Police, called in by neighbours, arrived to find a horrifying scene.


The little boy, wearing just a filthy vest and pants, had been shut in the kitchen with a baby gate and was standing barefoot in several inches of water.

The first officer to arrive on the scene, PC Gary Hugo, said that when he looked through the letterbox the boy was 'clearly shaking as if he was cold.

He added: 'There was no one else in the flat. There were soiled nappies, broken crockery and plastic bags on the kitchen floor. Items of clothing were strewn everywhere. The smell was overpowering, making it very difficult to breathe.'

Felicity Gerry, prosecuting said: 'The boy was penned in that kitchen, scrabbling about in the rubbish bins, with food left on a plate for him - just like a dog.'

The harrowing discovery, in November 2006, came after a six-month period of neglect, during which the boy, who cannot be named, was starved of emotional stimulation and kept in the 'long-term filth' of the flat, Miss Gerry told the court yesterday.



Disgusting: The kitchen in which the toddler was left to rummage around in





Home of horror: The flat where Kelly Tollerton lived in Lincoln

It emerged during the trial that the child was put on the at risk register aged just two months after he was admitted to hospital because he was seriously underweight.

Social workers and health visitors later expressed concerns that both the boy and Tollerton's flat in Lincoln were dirty and that he spent a lot time strapped into a car-seat.


Accused: Emma Barton said Tollerton could 'rot in hell'. Tollerton claimed her ex-friend was meant to be looking after the baby
Miss Gerry said: 'She knew what to do but chose not to do it. Young girls like to party. We've all been out on the town enjoying ourselves with our friends.

'But young mothers can't or shouldn't, because they have a responsibility. Once you have a baby you, are responsible for it and have to bring it up.'

Tollerton, from Lincoln, was convicted earlier this month of child cruelty, neglect, abandonment and perverting the course of justice. She denied all charges.

Sentencing her yesterday, Mr Harbage said: 'Your treatment of your young son was deplorable and disgraceful. Your parenting was woefully inadequate.

'Your conduct arouses feelings of horror and revulsion among all right-thinking people, particularly parents, most of whom must make considerable sacrifices in their lives for their children.

'The evidence shows that you were more concerned with your own social life than catering for his needs or caring for him. You were too selfish and too lazy to look after him properly.'

The court heard that Tollerton was eventually found by police at the house of her boyfriend and claimed another woman, Emma Barton, had been looking after the toddler.

Miss Barton, 22, who had previously cared for the child at weekends, denied the arrangement, claiming she had not spoken to Tollerton for 'several months'.


Yesterday as her former friend was led away to start her sentence, Miss Barton said: 'She deserves to rot in hell. She deserves everything she gets.'

The court had heard that Tollerton, who ran away from home when she was 15, was pregnant with her first child before her 16th birthday. The father was 31.

At 18, after moving to a rented flat, she began a three-and-a-half-year relationship with a 36-year-old man and had a second child, who is understood to live with his father.

Patricia Harding, defending, claimed Tollerton had a low IQ, no family support and was 'inadequate' rather than selfish.

After the case, Sally French, of Lincolnshire Crown Prosection Service, said: 'It is a sad fact of life that there are so many people who are unable to have children.

'But there are people like Kelly Tollerton who are unable to understand the sacrifices that need to made and the joy a child can bring.'

The boy, who now lives with foster parents, has hearing difficulties and communicates through sign language.

Doctors are not able to tell whether his difficulties are due to autism or brought on by the trauma he endured at the hands of his mother.

The jury heard that his mother, a trainee beauty technician, had deliberately abandoned her child so that, 'in her own words,Tollerton could 'go out and party'.'

repeated

This is sweet or daft, they only has a thing for 6 weeks and got married, though with regards to the age diff (11yrs), if Ashton Kutcher could have Demi, then nothing new here perhaps??
So many folks are definately watching this space,


Story[i][/i]

Yep, they did it! If there was any doubt Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's wedding was the real deal, they answer the question once and for all in this week's issue of PEOPLE, speaking for the first time about their surprise nuptials – and showing off exclusive photos from their April 30 ceremony.

"We really do feel we are soulmates," Carey tells PEOPLE, following their sunset ceremony at the pop star's Bahamian estate. "I never felt a love like this was in the cards for me."

Cannon adds: "She is beautiful on the outside and 10 times as beautiful on the inside."

For more on Mariah & Nick's whirlwind romance – including photos of their new tattoos, details on Nick's candy-themed proposal, and their plans for kids (!) – pick up the latest PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

@ seun

(Well in my life, I have been thoroughly outclassed [outsmarted] in a quarrel by two just women. One of them is gay, and both of them are Yoruba, and I will never forget them. Maybe that is why I have these ideas that are not progressive at all; perhaps other Nigerian men are not like that, but I doubt it )

With regards to your text above, atleast you're man enough to admit that such ideas are indeed not progressive!

Enjoy

Incase u are just switching on to the fat that this whole section is just about proclaimaitions about folk most on here don't know, so an additional "announcement" should not give u cause to need a justification for any post on here,
hope that answers ur so,

besides some folk want express congratulations to her , so why not??
I'm sure u wouldn't say that if it was the perfunctionary "who is hotter debate" infact I hope that puts all that to rest now that she is about to become a mum,

Halle Berry pregnant at 41
Last updated at 08:11am on 5th September 2007

Comments (1)

Oscar winner Halle Berry is pregnant with her first baby at 41, she confirmed last night.

Referring to her boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, 32, she said: "Yes, I am three months pregnant! Gabriel and I are beyond excited, and I've waited a long time for this moment in life.


She added: "Now the next seven months will be the longest of my life!"



The has already given a lot of thought to parenthood, telling InStyle magazine earlier this year: "I want my kids to realize it's only through hard work that any success or real joy comes.


"It's not about money, it's the intangible rewards – having integrity and doing what you say you're going to do."


The baby is due on Valentine's Day. The magazine also reports that Berry will be carefully monitored during the pregnancy, not only because of her age but also because she is a diabetic.



She reportedly is being treated by a doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.


The X-Men and Perfect Stranger beauty, who has been dating model Gabriel Aubrey since 2005, was preparing to headline Tulia, a movie about a drug and racial profiling scandal in Tulia, Texas.


However, due to the 41-year-old actress's pregnancy, the film will not start shooting next month as planned.


The film, which was to be directed by John Singleton and co-star Berry's Monster's Ball love interest, Billy Bob Thornton, has not been shelved entirely and producers may decide to pick it up at a later date.


Berry has been married twice, to baseball player David Justice and musician Eric Benet, and says she has no plans to wed again.


Parents in waiting: Halle Berry is expecting her first child with model Gabriel Aubry

here it is again;

http://www.local6.com/entertainment/13750502/detail.html


http://www.metacafe.com/watch/737578/beyonce_falls_off_stage/

To the thread starter,

who's family do you belong to, the richer wfe or the husband??
If I am guessing you are from the less richer husband's side of the family why should anyone believe that your opinion is not biased? or do you live with them to know the full unadultrated facts??

story story story,

Men the great pretenders!!!

The kings of saying one thing and indulging in another,

Only God holds the key to a happy relationship, everything else is just an additional extra, if it aint right it aint right, whether you dress like beyonce in beautiful liar or siter Grace on her way to deeper life,

I wonder why stormfront gets on this site ,

Omo Eko:

historyyyyyy , so can u tell me what it is

Just because it's history doesn't make it common knowledge,
u came off really bitter that the babe was preggers for Usher and that usually happens when a lil jealousy gets involved, which made me wonder if u were an EX of his,

omo eko am I sensing some history between u and usher? Do tell,

Did you sleep with your friend without protection to keep her with you somehow as well as your girlfriend? So far you seem to have the best of both worlds, 2 according to you "good" and beautiful women desperate for you to be with them?? maybe with time you'll marry them both , Nigeria still embraces polygamy afterall!

no more,

Wow,
interesting story , heard diff versions of it on so many black orientated sites though, so to me the authenticity of it all is dubious,

what kind of response are you expecting to recieve from the statement below
"is this typical behaviour from nigerian men abroad?"

There are jliters in every colour and creed on the planet , as you said you chose to stay with him, noone forced you, simply accept that it's just a relationship gone wrong and more importantly for your own sanity that it could have gone disastrously wrong if you married a fellow white person too (^{though I still think this story is a load of bs})

Generalization is not the way forward , for example, though It's common knowledge that white people have the highest rate of serial killers in the world,  I wouldn't go to a white based website and ask them if I thought all white people were potential serial killers in waiting?? not very sensible now, is it?

a vest

oga ooo,
she is not ugly,
everyone who cursed her, put your own up too, bet she looks better that yall!!
attached neyo,nicole smith and their mum

kulaShaker:

Lie lie lie my brother

women are women where ever you go. White women do exactly the same things , so all those silly notions you have of those frail lovely white dames is so wrong wrong wrong. Black women are not the aggressive, mad, sexually aggressive beast we are shown to be. A woman scorned is a woman scorned where ever you go. threat a woman nice and you will be a happy man. Kapish?

Oro loso for real,
preach it!!

[size=14pt]stop looking for girls in strip joints!!![/size]

becos boys like "ready hot gals" too, so it's only fair that gals like "ready made boys",

at iice,
I think thats most people's natural move, but I wonder why I just start giggling when I hear it in youruba it's just funny and somehow really dirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry,

ice and sammyjl,

Have u tried it in your natural tongue before (language barrier not being the issue)? Do you think it will add to the moment or kill it??