Illicit Trade reported on 16th May that the Nigerian government has banned the production and importation of codeine-based cough syrup after a BBC investigation revealed teenagers were abusing the medicine and becoming addicted. The BB found that dealers were selling the opioid-based medication illegally on the streets of Lagos, where children as young as 14 were becoming hooked on it with devastating effect. The investigation revealed that abuse of codeine-based cough syrup has become a major problem in a number of African countries, including Chad, Ghana, Kenya and Niger, and that more than 20 Nigerian pharmaceutical firms were manufacturing the medicine. While codeine is legal in Nigeria, the drug cannot be sold without a prescription from a doctor.
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