The Lagos State Government on Friday said comprehensive plans are currently being firmed up to address prevalence of drug abuse under the mental health policy in the state, revealing that a law to that effect has already been updated.
The Federal Government had on Tuesday directed the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to stop further issuance of permits for the importation of codeine as active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations with immediate effect in response to the gross abuse of codeine usage in the country.
Speaking at the annual ministerial press briefing to mark the third anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said before and after the ban was announced, the state government had been engaging with key stakeholders, adding that it was important for serious attention to be concentrated on mental health issue and affiliated matters.
Responding to a question on what the state government was doing in that regard, Idris said: “On the issue of codeine, that is very interesting and the question is how are we, as a ministry, ensuring the compliance by manufacturers. I must tell you that the Drug Control Unit in the Ministry is very active. We are also operating in conjunction with NAFDAC.
“The ban principally is a NAFDAC initiative but as a state government we did not wait; we are more proactive and ever since this issue came into light, the Ministry has been engaging and very soon, we will come out with a more comprehensive programme.
“This is because we would not look at codeine alone; we are going to look at it under drug abuse. Codeine is just one substance out of many that are being abused. It also goes to show you the extent of the mental health situation in our country and that is why like we said something ago that we are putting more emphasis now on mental health. It is a serious issue; it is one area of the health sector that people generally do not even address and that is why as a state government we are being proactive.
“In line with this, we have updated our own mental health law as against what is happening at the federal level; we have a mental health policy and we are currently now implementing our mental health programme to cover all tiers – primary, secondary and tertiary health care systems. This is a comprehensive thing and there is no doubt about the fact that there is a major mental health problem in our country and this codeine is just a tip of the iceberg.”
