Addiction experts warn of shortage of methadone tablets
A member of staff with a week's supply of Diaphin for heroin addicts at the Arud addiction centre in Zurich
Keystone / Ennio Leanza
The Swiss Society of Addiction Medicine (SSAM) has warned of a possible shortage of methadone tablets in the coming weeks. It is therefore calling for the importing of these tablets to be simplified.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/ts
Português
pt
Especialistas em adição advertem contra falta de metadona
The shortage affects 9,000 people in Switzerland, addiction specialist Thilo Beck told Swiss public radio, SRFExternal link, on Thursday. Methadone is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a vital drug for the treatment of people addicted to opiates, such as heroin, he said. “The existence of these people is threatened,” Beck said.
Importing from abroad is currently very expensive, Enea Martinelli, a hospital pharmacist and board member of the pharmacist association pharmaSuisse, told SRF. Each authorisation costs around CHF200 ($215) and applications can only be made individually, he said.
According to SRF, Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic has suspended, for safety reasons, the operating licence and all drug licences of an important drugs producer.
Martinelli said the company had produced not only methadone tablets but also an anaesthetic used during operations. The Swiss government found a solution for this in Germany, he said.
The only alternative with methadone is to take the drug in liquid form or, at certain pharmacies, in the form of capsules, Martinelli said.
More
More
Swiss pharmacists warn of medicine shortages
This content was published on
Switzerland is experiencing medicine shortages due to supply chain issues linked to Covid lockdowns in China and the Ukraine war.
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
This content was published on
In Switzerland, 2.2 million people are affected by non-communicable diseases, partly because people are not eating a balanced diet.
Free trade remains ‘core’ Swiss value despite Trump tariffs
This content was published on
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter says Switzerland remains committed to free trade despite a new 31% tariff on Swiss exports to the United States.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Government keen to roll out eased heroin distribution rules
This content was published on
Swiss authorities want to prolong the more lenient rules for controlled heroin distribution put in place during the pandemic.
‘The heroin programme is a kind of prestige project’
This content was published on
Doctor André Seidenberg, who has treated 3,500 patients suffering from addictions in his career, was one of the first to provide emergency help in Needle Park and to call for clean syringes to be given out to addicts. Police and the justice authorities tried to deal with the problem with repressive measures that failed to…
‘Without the heroin programme I’d probably be dead’
This content was published on
Switzerland has distributed heroin to addicts legally for the past 20 years. Around 1,500 people receive the drug under supervision.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.