Chemists barred from selling tramadol

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, July 31

Following the recent seizure pain relievers tramadol and tapentadol tablets, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has prohibited the chemists from selling painkiller tramadol.

Citing the report of misuse of tramadol and tapentadol containing oral solid dosage forms by addicts, chemists have been asked to return their stock to manufacturers within 15 days.

As per the orders issued on Tuesday, the chemists located only inside or in the vicinity of hospitals will be allowed to sell the medicine.

Even the retail sale chemists, who are allowed as per the new orders, won’t be allowed to possess more than 500 tablets of each drug at a time; the wholesaler who are direct stockiest of the manufacturing companies are allowed to possess the 5,000 tablets and the carrying and forwarding agents are allowed to possess maximum 50,000 tablets/capsules of each drug at a time after obtaining the special permission from the state licensing authority. Earlier in 2012, the FDA had restricted the sale of six drugs formulations containing dextropropoxyphene, dipenoxylate, codeine, pentazocine, buprenorphine and nitrazepam.

Psychiatrists oppose move 

Psychiatrists have opposed the ban on the ground that the government is taking off all good medicines one by one from their prescription list.