Food and Drugs Act
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Instruments Used in Health Care Should Not Injure
Specialized instruments such as condoms and catheters are used in the prevention and treatment of disease. These are illegal if they cause injury to consumers, even though they followed the directions for use. The sellers are liable to fines or imprisonment.
Food and Drugs Should be Prepared Under Sanitary Conditions
People use food, drugs and cosmetics daily. These come in contact with the body and can be harmful. It is illegal to sell any of these products if they were manufactured, prepared, preserved, packaged or stored under insanitary conditions. In addition, packages of drugs must have an expiry date printed on them. Breach can result in fine or imprisonment.
Drugs Must be Properly Labeled
Apart from the name of the drug, the label on any container of drugs and the label on the outside of the package must contain:
- the name of the manufacturer or distributor
- the address of the manufacturer (on small containers the address should be on the outside of the package).
- all the information needed for the consumer to use the drug properly, including cautions as to possible adverse reactions
Drug Package Must State Net Contents
The Food and Drugs Act states that the label on the outside of each package of drugs must contain:
- a correct statement of the net contents in terms of weight
- where the drug is intended to be administered through the skin or mucous membrane by an instrument the name and proportion of any preservative present must be printed.
Imported Drugs and Cosmetics Must Conform
When drugs and cosmetics are imported into Jamaica for sale to consumers, they must conform to the laws of the country of origin; in other words, if these items are not being used by consumers in the exporting country - then they cannot be imported into Jamaica.
No Additive For Baby Foods
The Food and Drugs Act stipulates that baby foods should not contain any additives except in the cases of special formulae, bakery products and special dietary foods.
Don't Sell Food Unfit For Human Consumption
The Food and Drugs Act states that it is illegal to sell any food, which is unfit for human consumption. These could be poisonous or of a generally harmful nature. Persons guilty of such an offence are liable to a fine or to imprisonment with or without hard labour.
Distributing Drug Samples
Drug samples can only be distributed legally to registered medical practitioners, registered dentists or veterinary surgeons. Manufacturers of the drugs may also distribute samples through persons acting as distributors for them. It is illegal to sell these samples.