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BBC jolts Nigeria to the age-long scourge of codeine addiction.

Below is the video of the BBCAfricaEye documentary that elicited outrage since it was released on April 30, 2018. A lot of us know about this and also have friends or relatives that are addicted to codeine. It is commonplace these days to see bar tables littered with bottles of codeine while youths puffed away from shisha pipes in various entertainment houses across the nation. If you have lived in the North then you will even better appreciate the devastating impact of cheap accessible drugs on the millions of teens found in the streets. It’s nice to hear that the Federal Government has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, to ban with immediate effect further issuance of permits for the importation of codeine as the active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations. It is also good to read that Emzor has suspended the distribution of codeine cough drugs. However, it is a shame that it took a BBC documentary for our government and pharmaceutical companies to wake up to its responsibilities. Watch.