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“Tramadol is a Silent Ebola” – Consultant Psychiatrist Calls for Stringent Measures

Tramadol has become a silent ebola and stringent measures are needed to curb the hike in its abuse, a Consultant Psychiatrist is advocating. Dr. Yao Mfodwo is calling for urgent action to discourage the increasing abuse of the strong pain reliever, Tramadol which has become a common drug of abuse by the youth.

His call follows the recent growing trend of tramadol abuse among Ghanaian youth, market women, and drivers and in some cases students.

The trend has led to some Anti-drug agencies blaming pharmaceutical shops who have shown gross irresponsibility in controlling the sale of the drug leading to it subsequent abuse.

Dr. Mfodwo, a Psychiatrist at The Brain Clinic, an Accra Based health facility is wondering how a drug that is supposed to be issued strictly through prescription has assumed what he called a common drug easily accessible over the counter.

“It very unfortunate that Tramadol is being described as a common drug,” he bemoaned. “Tramadol is actually a medication that is strictly issued by prescription for the treatment of moderate or severe pain such as cancer, sickle cell and sometimes pain after operation.”

Doctor Mfodwo who blamed the lax in law governing the prescription and regulation of the drug said the negligence is the cause of the current situation regarding the abuse of tramadol.

“Tramadol is never a common drug but poor application of prescription laws and poor regulation on its importation has led to its invasion on the local market, and creating its ready accessibility and a ‘common’ drug,” the Consultant Psychiatrist asserted.

Tramadol is a restricted medicine due to the way it works on the human system but has become a mere pain killer for headaches, he added.

The continuous use of Tramadol, added can lead to low blood pressure, low body temperature and sometimes out of breath, convulsion.

He was concerned that medical experts and regulatory authorities are still unaware of how the drug, despite its public health concerns and effects on users including death, found its way into the country.

To the Medical Practitioner, authorities must intensify the country’s drug control laws especially regarding prescription and the strengthening of the country’s security systems against the illegal importation of tramadol and similar drugs, positing that Tramadol itself is an illegal drug.

Source: Joyce Bedeley/ritefmonline.org/jbedeley9357@gmail.com

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