Nigerian pharmaceutical powerhouse, Emzor has been exposed as contributing the lion share of the codeine addiction ravaging the nation currently, especially among Nigerian youths.
This came to light following an undercover reportorial job conducted by journalists from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
According to the BBC report, a male sales representative of the company offered to and did sell 60 units of “fresh-off-the-oven” cough syrups to a reporter, who posed as a drug dealer.
The sales rep added that the products were straight from “Emzor factory”.
The BBC reported that so rampant has the codeine epidemic become that over 3 million units of the product were consumed in two states in one day alone.
The report further highlighted that the trend could further worsen with dealers and end users having such easy access to large quantities of the product.
According to a short clip of the documentary posted on BBC’s social media handles, rehab centre workers could be seen complaining about the damage that codeine consumption has had on otherwise promising young men and women.
The users of the drug are said to mix it with soft drinks; and so widespread is the reach that young men and women, married women and even fathers, are not spared from its addictive effects.
One of the rehab centre officials identified as Sani Usman told the BBC that no one is safe from the fangs of the snake of codeine addiction, adding that the poison is spreading from “one home to another”.