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. Read more