It's codeine cough syrup, and Nigerian lawmakers estimate that the residents of just two states in the country's north consume more than 3 million bottles of it each day. This week’s ban came immediately after the BBC released "Sweet Sweet Codeine," a documentary that shows pharmaceutical-company staff selling large amounts of cough syrup to undercover BBC reporters. While codeine-based cough syrup was legal in Nigeria, it was supposed to be handed out only to patients with a valid prescription or to those with a pharmaceutical license. On Thursday, the BBC reported that black-market cough syrup prices had already skyrocketed since the implementation of the ban. Cough-syrup addiction is not just a Nigerian problem.

Source: Washington Post May 04, 2018 15:45 UTC