Death for sale: a study of drug poisoning and deaths in Nigeria.

Drug availability, distribution and control are major concerns in health development. In contending that the concern in Nigeria now is as much with the availability of, as well as the dangers in drugs, this essay examines the 1990 paracetamol poisoning which resulted in the death of 109 children. It is explained that this tragedy, and others before it, are more fully understood within the context of a seemingly free-for-all drug scene on the one hand, and a health care system which excludes the majority on the other. The implication of this "drug swindling", of which the paracetamol tragedy is a part, are discussed. We conclude that whereas more meticulous self regulation will most certainly provide a greater safeguard against recurrence, the war on counterfeit and poisonous drugs can hardly be won without consumer initiative and more effective regulatory system.