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2 most popular codeine cough drugs wrecking Nigerian youths

The cough drugs are similar to Broncleer cough syrup with codeine, the most abused over-the-counter drug in South Africa.

  • Emzolyn with Codeine and Benilyn with Codeine

Two cough drugs with codeine are the most abused over-the-counter drugs by several youths in Nigeria.

The cough drugs - Emzolyn with Codeine and Benilyn with Codeine - are similar to Broncleer cough syrup with codeine, the most abused over-the-counter drug in South Africa.

While Benilyn is manufactured by Johnson and Johnson, Emzolyn is manufactured by Emzor Pharmaceuticals in Nigeria.

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The abuse

For the sale price of between N500 and N1000 - depending on the area - Emzolyn and Benilyn with Codeine cough syrups caught the fancy of several Nigerian youths.

The two cough syrups are being abused by people - most especially youths in the Northern part of Nigeria - seeking a cheap high.

The syrups contain codeine which is said to be the most abused over-the-counter drug in current Nigeria.

Addicts do as much as four bottles at a sitting while some do less than four bottles per day.

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Codeine is also found in a range of other medications, including Myprodol and Mybulen, Syndol, AdcoDol, Tensodol, Sinutab C, and Sinumax Co amongst other products.

With the drugs availability and accessibility, many Nigerian youths - and in some areas, adults - tend to go for these two cough syrups to get high.

The patronage has in turn increased the sales of the pharmaceutical companies.

An alleged sales rep of Emzor pharmaceutical boasted about selling a million cartons of Emzolyn in one week, having understood the demand from addicts.

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Codeine

Health24's resident doctor, Dr Owen Wiese noted that codeine is an opioid medication used for the relief of mild to moderate pain and to suppress coughing.

"Part of codeine is converted to morphine by a complicated enzyme process that happens mainly in the liver," he revealed.

However Dr Wiese warned that abusing codeine, in whatever form, could be very detrimental to one’s health saying "Continuous use of codeine can lead to tolerance and eventually abuse of the medication when more of the drug is needed. Like other opioid medications, abuse can result in vomiting and nausea, constipation, drowsiness. In severe cases respiratory depression can occur."

Coedeine essentially acts as a depressant of the central nervous system leading users to experience feelings of relaxation, euphoria, drowsiness and slowed heart rate.

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These effects are perceived as pleasant, and the user may become addicted to these effects and, in turn, the drug.

The addictive nature of codeine, and the physical dependency that may develop over time, can lead to difficult and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms including: Sweating and chills, Malaise, Extreme irritability, Abdominal discomfort, Diarrhea.

Like many opiates, withdrawal symptoms from codeine can be quite severe, keeping the user in a cycle of use they find difficult to stop.

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