Tramadol and codeine must, from December 1, 2024, be prescribed on “secure” prescriptions. The National Medicines Safety Agency has decided to toughen this prescription to combat their misuse and reduce the risk of dependence.
Tramadol and codeine in the sights of French health authorities. The National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) has decided to tighten the prescription of these two opioids. Medicines containing tramadol or codeine must now be prescribed by so-called “secure” prescription, from December 1, 2024.
The goal is to prevent the diversion of these opioids, sometimes used as a drug. In the United States, this type of medication has caused a serious health crisis. Faced with abuse, it will now be more difficult to obtain them.
“Secure” prescriptions, already used for morphine or certain antidepressants, include, a bit like a bank note, a watermark, on a specific paper with a precise weight, with mandatory information pre-printed in blue. These will allow the prescriber to be identified. Dosage, posology, duration of treatment must be indicated in full. The ANSM also announced reducing the maximum prescription duration of codeine to just twelve weeks.
20 deaths in 2022
Tramadol is used as a painkiller, while codeine is indicated in the treatment of cough. At high doses and over time, these two substances present a high risk of dependence with serious consequences for health. In 2022, tramadol abuse in France caused the deaths of 14 people, and codeine abuse caused 6 deaths.
The same year, false prescriptions to obtain one or other of these drugs represented nearly a third of the 2,600 prescriptions falsified during the year. “457 concerned tramadol, 416 codeine for its antitussive specialties and 293 for indications against pain,” Philippe Vella, medical director at the ANSM, told AFP.
Romain Houg (with TRC)
