Tramadol Derogation, a Cause to Worry

Photo credit: liyouthsafetycoalition.org

It is not uncommon to find derogatory expressions and remarks with the use of Tramadol on social media and other media of communication. The unfortunate trend must not be allowed to continue unabated.

Tramadol is an FDA approved prescription drug for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is a mainstream drug in the country’s health system for the management of pain. For the drug to be associated with derogatory comments in everyday Ghanaian communication should be a cause of worry.

Tramadol is a synthetic opioid drug and like other opioid drugs interferes with normal release of neurotransmitters, chemical mediators. This could lead to drug dependence and tolerance on continued repeated use. Drug dependence develops due to debilitating withdrawal symptoms and tolerance results when higher than normal doses are needed to elicit drug action. Affected individual thus need a continued and higher than normal doses of the drug for comfort due to their altered biology.

Hitherto Tramadol was not as popular as it is now. The drug’s popularity is in part due to the vigorous awareness creation against its abuse. The national campaign slogan of “Stop Tramadol Now” might have created an exaggerated and misconstrued view of the drug in the minds of the public. “What is this drug that needs to be stopped now? It must be a monster!” Many may hold such assumptions. The drug derogatory tag could also stem from exaggerations and false attributions of its ill effects in campaign messages. Instilling fear in people on falsehood to cause a change of behavior is potentially dangerous in our current dispensation of reasoned evidence-based knowledge. For this reason if such exaggerations and false attributions to the drug is deliberate, campaigners would have to revise against such an unhealthy strategy.

The latter reason of derogatory tag on Tramadol is a call to regulatory bodies to supervise and monitor activities that fall within their ambit. Much as individuals or groups have good intentions to effect behavioral change, wholesale permission to them should not be given on the backdrop of good intentions. Groups or individuals must seek permission and approval from mandated authorities to engage the public in sensitive issues. Their campaign messages and level of expertise on the subject matter should be scrutinized.  Regulatory bodies must be in the look out to call any recalcitrant individual or group to order. Sadly we never seem to learn from the hindsight of our delinquency to duty and lax regulations with associated injuries. 

The derogation of tramadol potentially could affect healthcare delivery in the use of the drug. It could also derail the success of public campaign on tramadol abuse and rehabilitation for addicts. The stigma associated with the drug could psychologically affect patients the drug has been prescribed to and consequently affect the drug action. The stigma could also stifle drug compliance and make patients resort to self-medication in seeking alternatives when the drug is given to them.

Public campaigns on Tramadol could be more effective when victims share battles of their addictions during campaign programs. Primary information on how they got addicted and how they managed to wane off from drugs is vital in cautioning people against drug abuse. It also gives hope to addicts looking forward to get treatment for their addiction or dependence. However in hostilities of stigma, no such individuals will risk public ill judgment of him or her to engage in such public education.

Furthermore people who might want to seek medical help for their addiction could shy off from the dread of stigma. People would willing seek tramadol addiction treatment if they are assured of community love and support. However in an atmosphere of unfriendly jabs, addicts may think their better off shelving their woes than shouldering an insensitive mocking society. In effect drug related crimes increase and man power resource go waste.    

In light of this the public through education should be reoriented on its view on Tramadol and other opioid addiction and abuse, which is common to many other countries. The public ought to see Tramadol as a pain killer and not a monstrous prohibited drug. We must come to the understanding that drug addiction could affect anyone of us and people do get addiction from drugs prescribed to them. Together let’s stop the stigma against Tramadol Now!

Martin Akandawen

MPhil Pharmacology (student)

University of Ghana.

martinakandawen@gmail.com