The Tobacco And Substances Of Abuse

The Directorate has two departments, and they are:

1. Tobacco and Tobacco Products Department
2. Substances of Abuse Department

Key mandate of the Tobacco and Tobacco Products Department

The Mandate of the department is defined in Part Six of the Public Health Act 2012, Act 851 and the Tobacco Control of Regulations 2016 (LI 2247).

The department regulates tobacco and tobacco products through the registration of tobacco products and importers as well as ensure reduction and subsequent prevention of tobacco use through effective implementation of tobacco control measures.

Key activities include; public education on the effects of tobacco use, monitoring of public places to enforce the ban of smoking in public places, monitoring of point of sale of tobacco products, conducting swoops to reduce illicit trade in tobacco products.

Departments Units

Two operational Units

1. Products Registration and Demand Reduction Unit
2. Tobacco Control Compliance Unit

Substances of Abuse Department (SAD)

Key Mandate

The legislative mandate of the Substances of Abuse department is in pursuance of Section 126 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (ACT 851) which states, “the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) shall regulate narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances for legal or medical use and precursor chemicals in accordance with the international conventions and any other relevant guidelines and protocols to which Ghana subscribes, including;

• The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 (1961 Convention), as amended by the 1972 Protocol.
• The Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 (1971 Convention) and, adopted in 1988,
• The United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988 Convention)”.

The operational activities for the department are as follows:

• Allocation of controlled substances to importers/manufacturers of pharmaceutical products.
• Issuance of permits for controlled substances, raw material and finished products.
• Monitoring of controlled substances to prevent its diversion to illicit use.
• Correspondences with the International Narcotics Control Board.
• Public education on substances of abuse and development of information and educational materials to promote and create awareness associated with substances abuse.

  The Departmental units are as follows:

• Document Control and Estimates Unit (DE): This unit handles all documentation relevant to the allocation of controlled substances, issuance of permits, verification of Advice Of Receipt and Returns, Export Authorization and PEN Online processing.

• Inspections and Monitoring Unit (CA): This unit oversees the monitoring of controlled substances utilization and distribution at the industrial, wholesale and retail levels.