In Russia since June 1, 2012 Government Decree No. 599 comes into force, according to which the dispensing of drugs with low codeine content or its salts to individuals is carried out exclusively by prescription.

Photo: ITAR-TASS

The list of these drugs includes all combination drugs containing codeine or its salts in amounts up to 20 mg per 1 dose of solid dosage form or up to 200 mg per 100 ml/100 mg of liquid dosage form for internal use, subject to release from pharmacies and pharmacy points according to recipes

Previously, drugs were sold by prescription that contained more than 20 mg of codeine per dose of solid dosage form or more than 200 mg per 100 ml/100 mg of liquid dosage form.

As stated in the letter from the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of protecting the health of citizens need, in connection with the innovation, to carry out organizational measures to ensure the availability of a sufficient number of prescription forms, to inform primary care specialists about the selection of alternative methods of treating pain syndromes, as well as to introduction of new progressive forms of public service (electronic recording, electronic medical record, etc.). In addition, they need to ensure that a wide range of effective analgesic and antitussive drugs are available for free sale as a replacement for codeine-containing drugs.

The initiator of the ban on the free sale of drugs containing codeine was the Federal Drug Control Service. As the ministry stated, the heads of almost all regions of the country have asked to introduce prescriptions for codeine drugs. This is due to the fact that some drugs are often used by drug addicts to make desomorphine ("crocodile"). This is a very hard drug that is highly addictive, but at the same time, unlike heroin, it is very cheap. Currently, “krokodil” is one of the most common drugs in Russia.

A ban on the sale of codeine-containing drugs was previously introduced in 20 regions of Russia. After this, the head of the Federal Drug Control Service, Viktor Ivanov, said that in these regions the supply of such drugs was reduced in some areas by up to 30 times. He said this suggests that 90% of codeine drugs were used for non-medical purposes. This is evidenced by the fact that the amount of seized desomorphine has decreased by approximately 30%, the head of the Federal Drug Control Service added.

Opponents of the FSNK initiative, in turn, point out that the decline in sales of codeine drugs is explained by another, much more banal reason: citizens simply do not want to stand in lines at clinics again because of minor illnesses, or use other drugs that are freely sold, or are not treated at all.

Codeine is a drug with a weak narcotic effect. It is mainly used in cough suppressants and pain relievers, such as Codelac, Pentalgin, Solpadein, Nurofen-plus. Thanks to its effect, it relieves cough and is at the same time an analgesic.

Codeine is registered: Codelac and Pentalgin will be available with a prescription