Curb over-the-counter sale of opioids

Even as the Karnataka government has banned hookah bars in order to safeguard public health, an alarming trend of youngsters getting high on Tapentadol, a tablet or oral solution used to treat severe pain, has come to light. Tapentadol belongs to a group of medicines called narcotic analgesics (pain medicines) that act on the central nervous system to relieve pain. With addiction to it on the rise among youth in Bengaluru, doctors from the Nimhans Centre for Addiction Medicine have urged the government to undertake an awareness drive and contain the problem before it gets out of hand. While only 23 cases of addiction to the drug had been reported at Nimhans till 2019, the numbers increased between 2019 and 2023, with close to 270 cases being reported. Now, on an average, doctors say, they see at least six patients with addiction every week. Many of the addicts are from the economically weaker sections and as young as 17. Since the drug is opioid-based (a compound resembling opium in a ddictive properties or physiological effects), it instantly hits the user, giving a high. Eventually, it turns into an addiction. A majority of patients reporting addiction have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, which causes liver infection. According to doctors, hepatitis C may have been caused due to the use of the same syringe by multiple people. 

There is a distinct possibility that Tapentadol may be emerging as a possible alternative to ganja and other drugs that are expensive and relatively difficult to source. Though Tapentadol is a prescription drug, which means it cannot be sold across the counter without a doctor’s prescription, its easy availability raises many questions. Recently, the Kerala government launched ‘Operation Amrith’, aimed at preventing the excessive use of antibiotics, with a squad headed by the drugs controller empowered to carry out inspections. With action being initiated against erring pharmacists, the over-the-counter sale of prescribed drugs is said to have drastically come down. 

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao should study the Kerala initiative and replicate it in the state to put an end to the abuse of drugs and the sale of medicines without a prescription. Apart from abuse, doctors have also repeatedly warned that self-medication can lead to severe health complications and can even be fatal. While the use of Tapentadol cannot be banned as it is an essential drug, the government should adopt a two-pronged strategy to limit its use by curbing over-the-counter sales and launching an awareness campaign to warn the youth of its harmful effects. Doctors, too, must explore how to avoid prescribing opioids.