Codeine : why is the minister of Health restricted his access

PIERRE VILLARD/SIPA

Published the 14.07.2017 at 15h57

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codéinepharmacovigilanceordonnanceagnès Buzyn

To great evils, great remedies. Since 12 July, the drugs based on opiates are not directly available in pharmacies in france. The minister of Health, Agnes Buzyn, has signed a decree, which place codeine, as well as 3 other derivatives morphine-based drugs (dextromethorphan, ethylmorphine, noscapine), on the list of medicinal products subject to prescription.

The lessee of the avenue Duquesne, has not lost time in the implementation of this order. It is effective immediately. This decision marks the culmination of a concern that a rising share of the health authorities.

An increasing misuse

The origin of this decree, a mode came to the United States. Teenagers, sometimes aged only 12 years, prepare a cocktail dubbed Purple drank, a tribute to its purplish color. Composition : soda, antihistamines, and codeine. But the knock out drug turns to bitter. Since the beginning of the year, 5 cases of poisoning serious have been reported, of which two were fatal.

Starting in 2016, the national security Agency of the drug (MSNA) is concerned about this trend and calls on health professionals to exercise caution. In the month of June, she pulls the alarm bell, and to consider the question of the mode of delivery. In fact, the reporting is likely to be less than the actual development.

Nothing in the Midi-Pyrénées region, 5 pharmacies reported regular requests – sometimes daily – on the part of young people. On the three hospitalizations analyzed, for the occasion, by the regional Centre of pharmacovigilance, none of which had been the subject of a report.

Cases of addiction

Beyond this recreational use, the drug is also highly addictive, and can cause dependencies. “The centers of pain, it is often required to support patients painful and addicted to morphine “, confirms Pourquoidocteur Dr. Christian Gov, doctor algologue at the pain centre of the university hospital of Lyon (Rhône).

These dependencies “classic” in addition to the approaches of substitution. “Users of heroin, manage, and periods of lack, by Néocodion by example “, illustrates the Pr Nicolas Authier, of the department of medical pharmacology at the university hospital of Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme), who was interviewed by Slate.