Banning of tramadol and Codeine was just an admittance of our failure as a nation to do the right thing in terms of regulation. These drugs are effective therapeutic drugs that can be used to manage pains and inflammatory conditions.

But because Nigeria failed in putting the right regulatory framework in place to control the use of these drugs, the country resorted to banning the drugs. A lot of patients need these drugs! Tramadol and Codeine are very good alternative pain killers especially for ulcer patients who cannot take the NSAIDs.

In the developed nations where drugs are properly regulated, such drugs are sold only in registered pharmacies and upon prescription by qualified prescribers such as physicians and dentists. Usually, there's a pattern of writing such drugs by the prescribers which the Pharmacists understand. After dispensing the drugs, a form is filled by the Pharmacist while the prescription form is retained in the pharmacy and comes handy should there be any security issues arising from the use of such drugs.

In Nigeria, especially in the southeast, these drugs are sold and used indiscriminately due to the fact that the open drugs markets allow easy access to such drugs by abusers and criminals who use them for criminal purposes. I discovered during the period I worked briefly in a hospital in the southeast, that even the medical doctors don't seem to know or have forgotten the security implications of such drugs hence, they don't even follow the recommended pattern of writing prescriptions for such drugs-- Or should I say that they don't get trained on how to write prescriptions for ethical drugs?

In a nutshell, Nigeria need not ban good therapeutic drugs like tramadol and codeine, instead, let's thoroughly regulate our drug distribution system by implementing the national drug distribution guidelines (NDDGs) and ensure that such drugs are only sold in registered pharmacies and upon prescription by a licensed prescriber. Our medical doctors also need to learn how to write prescriptions for ethical drugs and start writing such prescriptions properly the way they should.

I know some people are ignorant of how these drugs are used to cause harm and insecurity to the society but anybody who understands what's happening in the streets would know that most of the criminals that perpetrate insecurity in the society operate under the influence of these drugs!

Let's build a better Nigeria for all and stop running to the white man's land!

I come in peace.

Tinubu liked this post.

Hmmm

Yoruba man..

They just can’t do without one silly propaganda against southeast

And yet superiority complex the worry almost all of them

Write your article and leave region.. Yoruba go say no.

Funny we all know the region that abuse those drugs more ..

Southeast ain’t a lazy zone.. they don’t need slow motion laid back approach to work.

Jman06:
Banning of tramadol and Codeine was just an admittance of our failure as a nation to do the right thing in terms of regulation. These drugs are effective therapeutic drugs that can be used to manage pains and inflammatory conditions.

But because Nigeria failed in putting the right regulatory framework in place to control the use of these drugs, the country resorted to banning the drugs. A lot of patients need these drugs! Tramadol and Codeine are very good alternative pain killers especially for ulcer patients who cannot take the NSAIDs.

In the developed nations where drugs are properly regulated, such drugs are sold only in registered pharmacies and upon prescription by qualified prescribers such as physicians and dentists. Usually, there's a pattern of writing such drugs by the prescribers which the Pharmacists understand. After dispensing the drugs, a form is filled by the Pharmacist while the prescription form is retained in the pharmacy and comes handy should there be any security issues arising from the use of such drugs.

In Nigeria, especially in the southeast, these drugs are sold and used indiscriminately due to the fact that the open drugs markets allow easy access to such drugs by abusers and criminals who use them for criminal purposes. I discovered during the period I worked briefly in a hospital in the southeast, that even the medical doctors don't seem to know or have forgotten the security implications of such drugs hence, they don't even follow the recommended pattern of writing prescriptions for such drugs-- Or should I say that they don't get trained on how to write prescriptions for ethical drugs?

In a nutshell, Nigeria need not ban good therapeutic drugs like tramadol and codeine, instead, let's thoroughly regulate our drug distribution system by implementing the national drug distribution guidelines (NDDGs) and ensure that such drugs are only sold in registered pharmacies and upon prescription by a licensed prescriber. Our medical doctors also need to learn how to write prescriptions for ethical drugs and start writing such prescriptions properly the way they should.

I know some people are ignorant of how these drugs are used to cause harm and insecurity to the society but anybody who understands what's happening in the streets would know that most of the criminals that perpetrate insecurity in the society operate under the influence of these drugs!

Let's build a better Nigeria for all and stop running to the white man's land!

I come in peace.

Legally, the drugs are not banned, they just come under highly controlled substances.

There are Pharmaceutical alternatives to them so it's not really a big deal. The abuse of the drug is a huge cost that far outweigh its benefits so I get the reason for its reclassification.

It was when a non-Pharmacist, Dr Orhi, was appointed to head NAFDAC that led to the problem and till date, as a nation, we are trying to stop the problem with a lot of successes now recorded when Pharmacists got back to NAFDAC.