Aphrodisiac in general terms refers to sexual enhancing substances such as drugs, food, and drinks which are believed to possess the potential to stimulate sexual pleasure, desire and drive.
In some cases, the aphrodisiacs are used by men to prolong their sexual drive, while others depend on it to bolster their libido, and as a source of energy for sexual escapade. In the past, aphrodisiacs were used by relatively older men above the age of 50 to rekindle their ‘fireworks.’
Following the continuous hypes that aphrodisiacs continue to enjoy over the years, many young people appear to have fallen in love with its usage, which has increased demand. Because of this, one of the commonest things that one sees online when the person visits most Ghanaian websites that have an AdSense is an advertisement about one aphrodisiac or the other.
The aggressive nature of the advertisement gives clearer indication that the advertisers truly mean business, and it is equally safe to say that the business might be booming, hence, the continuous running of the adverts.
In principle, The Chronicle is not against the use of aphrodisiac by those who need one form of it or the other to gain their desired pleasure, or achieve whatever results. However, what is of much concern to us is whether these aphrodisiacs that are advertised daily on Ghanaian websites have been vetted and approved by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
We are overly concerned, because among all the advertisements that are witnessed online, none has an endorsement or the approval of the FDA. Meanwhile, the FDA is the National Regulatory Authority mandated by the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), to regulate food, drugs, and food supplements.
Others include herbal and homeopathic medicines, veterinary medicines, cosmetics, medical devices, household chemical substances, tobacco and tobacco products. This explains why every drug or food related advertisement on radio, television or the newspapers in the country must have an endorsement from the FDA before it is carried.
From the above, it is clear that the sale of any form of aphrodisiacs, which targets the Ghanaian market, must strictly pass through the vigorous tests and approval of the FDA before it could be sold to the general public.
The paper would respectfully want to draw the attention of the FDA to the fact that those advertisements found on Ghanaian websites have Ghanaians as the target audience.
As a result, it is the paper’s clarion call that all the aphrodisiacs, as advertised on Ghanaian websites, must be subjected to the strict rules and regulations of the FDA.
Our decision to make this clarion call is also partly informed by the fact that like any other uncertified drug or medicine, unapproved aphrodisiacs could be harmful to consumers. We, therefore, call on the FDA to, as a matter of necessity, publish all approved and certified aphrodisiacs, so that the general public could become aware of them.
This, we believe, would ensure that no matter how daring the temptation would be, consumers would be able to draw a line between approved and certified aphrodisiacs.
Additionally, we believe that it would not be a bad initiative should the FDA task itself to educate the general public about the dangers involved in the excessive use of aphrodisiacs.
