CAIRO - Minister of Health Fouad el-Nawawi has issued Decree No. 125/2012, according to which Tramadol, the popular analgesic, will be added to a list of narcotics, provided for in the Law on Combating Drugs (No.182/1960), says Seifallah Imam, the undersecretary of the Pharmacists' Syndicate. “Like other medicines on the list, people will only be able to purchase Tramadol with a ‘red' prescription, while pharmacists caught selling black market Tramadol will be considered to be drug dealers.” Many Egyptians are addicted to Tramadol, which is supposed to be available only by prescription. The drug is a mild opioid and experts say regular use can cause flulike withdrawal symptoms. Meanwhile, the Pharmacists' Syndicate branch in el-Qaliubiya Governorate has organised, in co-operation with the Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction, a campaign for fighting addiction in el-Qaliubiya. Dr Ahmed Rami, the head of the Pharmacists' Syndicate in el-Qaliubyia, says that the syndicate will allow the Fund's officials to use its headquarters to offer advice to addicts planning to give up, adding that, within the coming fortnight, Syndicate and Fund officials will meet to discuss the final details of the campaign.
