The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has seized quantities of a cigarette-shaped candy being sold in Accra and arrested a key suspect as it investigates how the product entered the country.
The FDA, working with National Security, confiscated the product, branded Cigarette Rod Lollipop, during an operation in the Central Business District of Accra over the weekend.
The suspect believed to be at the centre of the sale has been placed in police custody while investigations continue into the importation, distribution and sale of the candy.
The FDA said the product is not registered with the Authority, meaning its composition has not been verified. It has therefore warned the public against buying or consuming the candy.
The Authority is also concerned about the product’s cigarette-like appearance, particularly its potential appeal to children.
According to the FDA, allowing children to hold and use a candy designed to look like a cigarette could make smoking appear normal or attractive to them. It said this could undermine efforts to discourage tobacco use, particularly among young people.
The FDA said the product falls under the category of food and therefore requires registration before it can be manufactured, imported, distributed or sold in Ghana.
It cited Section 97(1) of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), which makes it an offence to manufacture, import, export, distribute, sell or supply food, or expose food for sale, without registration by the Authority.
The FDA has urged anyone who has the cigarette-shaped candy in stock to contact the Authority or take the product to the nearest FDA office.
It is also asking the public to report anyone found selling the product, as well as other suspected unregistered products.
The Authority said information leading to the arrest of the importer or others involved in bringing and distributing the Cigarette Rod Lollipop into the country will be treated confidentially, and that informants may be rewarded.
Members of the public can contact the FDA on 055 111 2224 or 055 111 2225, or by email at fda@fda.gov.gh
