Ghana is sitting on a ticking public health time bomb, and the most disturbing reality is that it is unfolding in plain sight.
Across markets, streets, lorry stations, and even social media platforms, illegal herbal tea peddlers—masquerading as “health experts”—are flooding the country with unapproved so-called “green tea” mixtures, freely marketed to the general public without oversight.
These products are not certified.
They are not regulated.
They are not medically approved.
Yet, they are being consumed daily by thousands of unsuspecting citizens who are lured by persuasive advertising and exaggerated claims of instant healing.
The question is no longer whether this situation is dangerous.
The real question is: why has the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) allowed this madness to spread so widely?.
Let us be blunt: this has become a national scandal.
Unqualified individuals with no medical training are openly selling herbal concoctions with wild claims of curing chronic illnesses such as:
Diabetes
Hypertension
Obesity
Infertility
Kidney-related diseases.
These illegal operators advertise aggressively on TikTok, Facebook, and roadside stalls, presenting themselves as health professionals when they are not.
There are no prescriptions.
No labeling.
No laboratory testing.
No ingredient disclosure.
No accountability.
This is not responsible herbal practice but medical fraud.
Even more alarming is the growing suspicion that some of these mixtures may contain concentrated pharmaceutical substances, exposing consumers to serious organ damage and increasing the risk of fatal complications.
Reports of kidney complications and other forms of organ damage linked to unregulated herbal mixtures are increasing, particularly among the youth.
Health experts have repeatedly warned that such products may contain harmful chemicals, unsafe dosages, or dangerous contaminants that gradually destroy vital organs.
How many more young Ghanaians must collapse before the FDA acts?.
How many families must lose loved ones before enforcement begins?
How many dangerous substances must circulate freely before someone at the FDA finally wakes up?
This is not alarmism.
This is reality.
People are being harmed.
Lives are being endangered.
FDA Boss Must End the Silence.
Honourable Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, Ghanaians deserve answers.
The public is asking critical questions:
Are you aware of this illegal herbal tea invasion?
If yes, why is it still happening everywhere?
If no, then what exactly is the FDA monitoring?
How do these products enter the market without registration?
Who is shielding these illegal operators from prosecution?
The truth is simple:
Illegal herbal dispensers are now more visible than the FDA itself.
That is unacceptable.
Proactive Regulation or Institutional Failure?
The FDA was established to protect public health—not to issue occasional statements after damage has already been done.
Regulation must not be reactive.
It must be aggressive, consistent, and fearless.
Yet today, illegal herbal tea sellers operate with the confidence of people who believe no one will touch them.
That confidence can only come from one thing:
Weak enforcement.
And weak enforcement is costing lives.
Enough is Enough — Shut Them Down now
The media is demanding immediate nationwide action, not tomorrow, not next month but now.
The FDA must urgently:
The media wants the FDA to launch nationwide swoops and intensified market surveillance
Shut down illegal herbal tea outlets immediately.
Arrest and prosecute unlicensed sellers and distributors
Expose manufacturers behind these dangerous mixtures
Publish a comprehensive list of FDA-approved herbal products
Name and sanction repeat offenders
Educate the public aggressively through sustained media campaigns
Ghana cannot continue to tolerate health crimes disguised as “natural cures.”
President Mahama’s resetting agenda for the health sector will be meaningless if regulatory bodies fail at their most basic responsibility: protecting citizens from dangerous drugs and fake supplements.
If the FDA cannot control herbal products openly sold in markets, then what exactly is being regulated?
Ghanaians are watching.
The media is watching.
History will judge.
Hon FDA Boss, the time for silence is over.
Act now—boldly and decisively.
Because if this illegal herbal tea crisis explodes into a full-blown national disaster, the question will not be about roadside sellers alone.
The question will be:
Where was the FDA when Ghanaians were being poisoned?
Public safety must come first.
The media is therefore calling on National Security and the Ghana Police Service to collaborate with the FDA to arrest and prosecute offenders and dismantle these illegal networks before more lives are lost.
The Punch News Desk
