South Africa's medicines regulator is developing a new set of initiatives to stem the misuse of codeine, an opioid drug which is found in certain pain relief medicines and cough mixtures, but which people also frequently use in large doses to get high - a practice which is particularly rife among youth, according to the regulator - the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority .
Asked about the programme, Moloi didn't explicitly confirm these details, but noted that SAHPRA was engaging with various stakeholders to review"the current data reporting requirements" in order to"facilitate reporting" on codeine supply. She said that the upcoming draft guidelines will stipulate the information that companies and health authorities will have to provide to SAHPRA when dispensing the drug.
Because codeine has genuine medical applications, some people can also become dependent on it accidentally. In one study, patients at rehabilitation centers in South Africa told researchers that they began taking codeine-based pills to manage pain following surgery or simply in response to severe headaches and migraines. However, over time they had come to rely on the drug as an emotional crutch to deal with depression and stress, without realising they were getting hooked.
Another challenge was that initially the programme wasn't compulsory for patients to take part in either.
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