BPOM challanged to fix public awareness, embraces communities

Batulicin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Tanah Bumbu National Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) is challanged to improve public awareness about drug use and embraces communities to disseminate pharmaceutical information.

"The globalization era and increasingly modern information technology has brought changes to people lifestyles," said Head of Tanah Bumbu BPOM Rahmat Hidayat in Batulicin, Friday.

Excessive products promotion through various media, including social networks, he said, accompanied by excessive testimonials can lead the public to prefer products in terms of trends, appearance, fast effects, taste, and low prices.

Such condition of society, if coupled with inadequate knowledge about illegal medicine and food, is feared to increase the tendency of people to use products without paying attention to legality, quality, and safefty.

This is a challange for BPOM. The agency then took tactical steps in Educational Information Communication (KIE) for safe drug and food through community-based communities empowerment in Tanah Bumbu and Kotabaru districts.

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BPOM Tanbu Go! was then implemented by targeting manner groups, such as meatball traders, palm oil workers, coastal residents, cattle breeders, and schools.

The aim is to form an intelligent society in the safe use and consumption of medicine and food.

KIE with the word of mouth communication method through communities is considered very influential and effective in disseminating information, because it can be conveyed quickly and trusted by the public.

Activities carried out, i addition to KIE, also distributed printed KIE media to participants as well as open discussion.

In the last two years, KIE for medicine and food had gathered 272 participants of BPOM Tanbu Go! from various communities.

BPOM continues to explore communities both in Tanah Bumbu and Kotabaru, in order to achieve the goal of forming a intelligent society in the safe use and consumption of medicine and food.

Communities can make independent requests to BPOM for KIE activities by contacting its office on Jalan Transmigrasi km.3,5 No. 09, Baroqah Villag, Simpang Empat Sub-district, Tanah Bumbu.

"Or via social media @bpom.tanahbumbu as well as by telephone and whatsapp to number 0838 2551 0434," Rahmat explained.

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