Sales practices of patent medicine sellers in Nigeria.

A survey was carried out among patent medicine dealers to evaluate their practices that militate against laws governing prescriptions-only medicines in Nigeria. Questionnaires were distributed to 46 patent medicine dealers and later collected from them on appointment. Analysis of the results showed that all the patent medicine dealers were aware of the law governing the sale of prescription drugs in Nigeria. Seventy-five per cent of them stock such drugs. Patent medicine dealers obtain their drugs largely from sales representative of pharmaceutical companies as well as from industries. Inappropriate use of sales boys and girls in patent medicine stores and defective government policies were all investigated.