By; Amara Thoronka
Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone (PBSL), has in public notice dated Wednesday, 29th November, 2023, disclosed that, at the moment, it cannot guarantee the quality and safety of the much-talked-about and fast-selling COCO SAMBA, a herbal product said to enhance sexual performance in men, among other beneficial claims.
As the country’s medicine regulatory agency, PBSL noted that it is concerned over the circulation, sale and consumption of the product.
“It has come to the notice of the Pharmacy Board Sierra Leone (PBSL) that a particular herbal product called COCO SAMBA is circulating in Sierra Leone market… The public is informed that, at this moment, PBSL has not registered this product, and as such, cannot guarantee its quality and safety,” the public notice disclosed.
The medicine regulatory agency however said that samples of COCO SAMBA “have been collected for quality control analyses”, adding that investigation into the widely circulated “unregistered herbal product” is ongoing.
PBSL said outcome of its investigation will be communicated to the public.
Notwithstanding the move by PBSL, many people are concerned about the delay in disclosing such information as the said product has been widely circulating with lots of people – jokingly or seriously – testifying of its efficacy for quite a long time now.
Many have also been asking how the product made its way to the market as it is from Nigeria, as indicated in the public notice from Pharmacy Board. Who is(are) importing it into the country? The product is still everywhere being sold on the streets by marketers with deafening speakers and megaphones running captivating jingles of the product, causing many to still purchase and consume.
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on Wednesday, December 1st, 2023 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)