Knowledge, perception and practice of pharmaceutical waste disposal among the public in Lagos State, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: increased consumption of pharmaceuticals has been reported to cause a high level of their discharge into the environment, and even small quantities in the environment have the potential to cause harm. METHODS: a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted between April and May 2021. The questionnaire was made available online through social media platforms. RESULTS: a total number of 534 respondents were surveyed. Two hundred and fifty respondents (46.8%) were presently on one or more medications. Many participants have not received advice on pharmaceutical waste from health professionals (413, 78.3%). There is fair knowledge about pharmaceutical waste 234 (43.8%). Many of the respondents think there is a lack of adequate information on what to do with them (500, 93.6%) and there should be a program/ strategy to retrieve all unused, leftover, or expired medicines (475, 88.9%). A lot of respondents throw unused medicines away in household garbage (391, 73.2%) CONCLUSION: there is fair knowledge, positive perception, and poor pharmaceutical waste disposal practice. There is a need for the implementation of a “medication take-back program” for appropriate waste disposal practice.