Regulation on the Sale of Codeine

They are approved for medical use in the treatment of the patients in line with the provisions of the law of the land. To guarantee the health and safety of the public, the health governing authorities of the countries ensure there are an adherence and compliance with the law in the use and sale of the drugs. Additionally, the authority imposes regulation on the process and the materials used in the manufacture of the drugs. The regulatory bodies are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the medicine production complies with the regulations and guidelines of ethical behavior required in both local and international organizations. These commitments and interventions by the governing authorities are geared towards ensuring a safe, healthy and productive society.

This meant that products which contain codeine such as Panadeine or Nurofen Plus would not be available for sale on the counter or at any local pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription (Gasche et al. Codeine is a derivative of morphine that was mostly used as a cough syrup as well as a treatment for pain and diarrhea. The drug regulator’s decision to have the drug be sold on prescription was based on the fact that persistence misuse of the drug resulted in addiction, caused dependency and even death. Apparently, in Australia, the drug is currently available for sale on prescription because of its addictive properties (Gasche et al. The change of policy or rather the regulation which was imposed by Australia’s drug regulator on the sale of codeine was meant to reduce its abuse and addiction by the citizens.

This is even worse for the people who use codeine with other substances such as alcohol and cocaine. When codeine is used with alcohol, the users are exposed to the risks of acquiring respiratory diseases, especially when used in high quantities. There is also a high risk of suffering from cardiovascular failure for users who take codeine with stimulants like cocaine (Prommer, 2010). In a nutshell, Codeine addiction has a negative effect on the lives of the users, their families as well as the wider society. On the part of the user, his or her health is exposed to the risks of various health-related complications as well as the physical dependency on the drugs. The change will lead to low sales of codeine across the country.

The products which contain codeine such as Panadeine and Nurofen Plus will record very low sales since they won’t be available for sale on the counter or without physician’s prescription. The drug-manufacturing companies are likely to produce less codeine as well as other products that contain codeine. These companies will tend to produce more of the alternative drugs with codeine (Prommer, 2010). Since the objective of every business venture is to make profits, these companies are likely to compromise the quality of drugs in favor of profit by manufacturing less effective drugs or rather generic drugs as a substitute for codeine. This does not, however, contravene any law particularly when the drugs are used for medical purposes. In this case, it is at the discretion of the citizen to make the choice on the use of the drug.

However, as the citizens exercise their rights and freedoms they should not interfere or deprive other people of their rights and freedom. The government is charged with the duty of protecting citizens and providing them with services as required by law. Australia’s drug regulator had a duty to protect a majority of citizens from addiction and dependency resulting from the misuse of the codeine. Cigarette are not illegal drugs in many countries and every citizen of the age of majority have right to smoke or not to smoke. Although many people enjoy this freedom, the government imposes a strict restriction on the selling of cigarettes, places where smokers are allowed to smoke and how to do cigarettes advertisements. Government puts limits on the age of individual allowed to smoke a cigarette.