From December 1, a secure prescription will be required to obtain codeine or tramadol-based medications

From December 1, a secure prescription will be required to obtain medications based on codeine or tramadol, franceinfo learned on Thursday, September 26 from the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM). Codeine and tramadol are two opioids, prescribed for pain. But when they are misused or taken in excessive amounts, they can be dangerous.

According to a survey conducted by the French Addictovigilance Network, the number of addicts who named tramadol as the first product that caused their addiction has increased 17-fold in 10 years. In 2022, this opioid caused 18 deaths, while codeine caused seven.

Faced with this observation, the ANSM wishes to better control access to these drugs and will require, from December 1, that prescriptions be made on a secure prescription. It will include pre-printed information with the doctor’s name, first name, identification number, telephone number and address.

The patient’s first and last name, as well as anti-fraud barcodes, must also be included. Finally, the number of tablets per dose, the number of doses and the dosage of the medication must be stated in full, as well as the duration of the treatment, limited to three months.