The Federal Ministry of Health
has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control
to ban with immediate effect further issuance of permits for the importation of
codeine as active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations.
The Minister of Health, Prof.
Isaac Adewole, said this in a statement on Tuesday.
The directive came less than 48
hours after a documentary titled, ‘Sweet, Sweet Codeine,’ was aired on BBC.
The documentary which has gone
viral showed some Nigerian youths who were addicted to codeine displaying
symptoms of mental illness and confined to an ill-equipped rehabilitation
centre.
The minister said the decision to
ban codeine became necessary due to the gross abuse of its use.
Adewole said cough syrups containing
codeine should be replaced with dextromethorphan which is less addictive.
He also directed the
Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria and NAFDAC to supervise the recall for
labelling and audit trailing of all cough syrups that contain codeine in the
country.
The minister noted that NAFDAC
had an emergency meeting with the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group to inform
them that there was an embargo on all new applications for registration of
codeine-containing cough syrups as well as applications for renewal had been
abolished.
The statement read in part, “The
PCN has been directed to continue enforcement activities on pharmacies, patent
and proprietary medicine vendor shops and outlets throughout the country.”
NAFDAC was also directed to fully
carry out its functions among others: to regulate and control the
manufacturing, distribution and sale of drugs, including inspection at points
of entry of drugs, drug products and food for compliance with the new
directive.
Adewole said the ministry would ensure
collaboration among regulatory agencies namely, NAFDAC, PCN, National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, for effective
implementation of extant Acts, regulations, policies and guidelines on codeine
control and usage.
“Furthermore, these agencies
shall work together to increase pharmaco-vigilance around codeine, tramadol and
other related substances of abuse,” Adewole stated.
Meanwhile, Senate President
Bukola Saraki has warned that the spate of drug abuse in Nigeria will become
catastrophic if left unchecked.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
What of tramadol? It is a big problem also.
ReplyDelete