Kathmandu, August 31

The Department of Drug Administration’s decision to ban the sale of Tramadol, a pain reliving drug, without doctor’s prescription has come into effect from today.

DoDA had taken the decision to this effect on August 10 and also directed all pharmacies to stop selling Tramadol without doctor’s prescription.

According to Narayan Dhakal, director at the Department of Drug Administration, strict action will be taken against pharmacies which found selling the drug. Dhakal informed that DDA would start inspection from Sunday onwards.

He said that it would be a challenging task for DDA to inspect all the pharmacies due to lack of sufficient human resources. “There are only four vacant posts of inspectors at DDA while we require nearly 38 inspectors to monitor pharmacies in Kathmandu valley alone.” he said, adding, “We have been requesting inspectors of local governments and the Department of Supply Management and Protection of Consumer’s Interest to coordinate with DDA during the inspection of pharmacies.”

According to Dhakal, Tramadol is being misused mainly by youths. They mix Tramadol with other drugs and use it as a narcotic.

“With the increasing demand of the drug in the market, pharmacies have been importing the drug illegally,” Dhakal said, adding, “We have found that Tramadol is being used as narcotic thus the demand of the medicine has gone up.”

The Department of Drug Administration has also directed drug importers and manufacturers to manage the drug as per the direction.