Chemists Warn Of 'Fatal Consequences' After Codeine Ban

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A Queensland pharmacist has warned of the "fatal consequences" after the national codeine ban following a spate of prescriptions asking for excessive quantities of the drug.

Steven Flavel told Seven News he'd complained to authorities after receiving a "suicidal" prescription for 200 tablets of Mersyndol Forte with five repeats (a drug containing paracetamol and codeine), alongside 500 tablets of Valium, filed before the February 1 ban.

In the last four weeks alone, the Woody Point chemist has also queried a dozen other doctors on their prescribed doses.

"A doctor... can write a truckload of the stuff [precriptions]", he said.

"Enought to sedate an entire town."

Flavel said the previous monitoring measurs in place from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia were effective because they could limit how many tablets patients could recieve.

"We had the solution there, but [Health Minister] Mr Hunt chose to ignore it," he added.

The nation-wide ban on selling over-the-counter codeine commenced on Wednesday.

Medical Journal of Australia research found the rate of codeine-related deaths in Australia more than doubled between 2000 and 2009.

The TGA recommends consumers speak with their GP for pain management treatment options given codeine will now not be so readily available.

You can check out the Seven News report in full below:

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2 February 2018




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