Commemorating World Pharmacist Day, Komix Herbal Provides Herbal Education to Students in Jember
PT Bintang Toedjoe, through its Komix Herbal brand, celebrated World Pharmacist Day by organizing an educational event for high school (SMA/SMK) students in Jember. Under the theme "Healthy Generation, Herbal Generation: It's Time for Gen-Z to Learn About Herbs!" the event, held at SMA 1 Jember on September 25, 2024, was attended by 50 student representatives from various schools. They received educational materials from the Jember branch of the Indonesian Pharmacists Association (IAI), the Jember Food and Drug Supervisory Agency, and Tribun Jatim Timur media. The event aimed to raise young people's awareness of the importance of health through the use of herbal medicine.
Khrisna Agung Cendekiawan, S.Farm., M.Farm., M.Kes., a speaker from IAI Jember, explained that self-medication is the first step in treatment. He emphasized the importance of the DAGUSIBU principle (Obtain, Use, Store, and Dispose of Medicine Correctly) when using herbal medicine.
“Self-medication is the first step in treatment. Therefore, we must be careful when obtaining, wise when using, and responsible when storing and disposing of medicine,” said Khrisna.
Eko Agus Budi Darmawan, S.F., Apt., M.Pharm., Head of the Jember BPOM (Food and Drug Supervisory Agency), also provided education on the importance of understanding natural medicines. In his presentation, he stressed that students must understand the processes that herbal medicines undergo to benefit the public.
He also advised students to always verify information about medicines using the BPOM Mobile’s Cek KLIK program (Packaging, Label, License, Expiry Date) and the principles of herbal medicine advertising. Sri Wahyuni, Head of the Tribun Jatim Timur Bureau, discussed the importance of ethics in using social media, especially when sharing information related to herbal medicine. She stated that the freedom of social media must come with responsibility, particularly in spreading health-related information.
“Students can act as mediators of information but must do so ethically, especially concerning medicines. Be more selective about HOAX,” Yuni explained.
PT Bintang Toedjoe organized the educational event for high school students at SMA 1 Jember on Wednesday (25/9/2024).
“The information provided by the speakers was very useful. I learned many new things about herbal medicine, and I hope this event can be held again in other schools,” she said.
Zaini Ahsan Prahendra, Public Relations of PT Bintang Toedjoe, added that education on herbal medicine is crucial.
“In the spirit of World Pharmacist Day, we can collaborate, and we hope that the participants gain comprehensive and complete information. Gen-Z is known as tech-savvy and digital natives, so we hope they can spread this knowledge further, especially to those close to them,” Zaini stated.
Komix Herbal is a herbal cough remedy made from natural ingredients like red ginger and lagundi leaves. Lagundi leaves (Vitex Negundo) are a herb that contains active compounds such as flavonoids, alkaloids, and triterpenoids, which have anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and expectorant properties. Due to these properties, lagundi leaves have been used in traditional medicine to relieve coughs.
