New date set for stricter painkiller prescription rules in France

The introduction of so-called ‘secure prescriptions’ for certain opioids has been pushed back in France to March 2025 after some pharmacists reported not being ready for a planned December start.

The changes will see digital prescriptions introduced for tramadol and codeine-based painkillers, as well as a reduction in the maximum period codeine-based medicines can be prescribed for to 12 weeks. 

The changes had been due to come into force on December 1. 

The secure, digital prescriptions will include additional information on the prescription and an anti-fraud barcode in an attempt to prevent the painkillers being obtained fraudulently via fake prescriptions. 

The drugs can be addictive if used extensively, irresponsibly, or over an extended period of time.

Read more: Change to prescription rules in France to prevent addiction

However, the French Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions asked for these changes to be pushed back, saying pharmacies were experiencing "implementation problems” with the new rules. 

“Many pharmacies do not yet have software compatible with digital prescriptions,” it said in a press release this month.

The French medicine watchdog, the Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de Santé (ANSM) has agreed to a new start date of March 1, 2025.

This is the case both for introduction of digital prescriptions and a 12-week limit on prescriptions of codeine-based medicines.

Prescriptions of tramadol-based medicines have had a 12-week limit since 2020.

More than 1,000 falsified prescriptions

These two opioids make up a significant percentage of the number of falsified prescriptions in France.

Out of around 2,600 falsified prescriptions in France in 2022, over 1,000 were for tramadol or codeine-based medicines (the latter for both coughing and pain relief), the ANSM stated earlier this year. 

Advice for patients taking such drugs from the Ordre National des Pharmaciens includes: 

• Respecting the dosage of the drugs, duration of treatment and the interval between doses

• Not stopping your treatment abruptly to avoid side effects associated with withdrawal. Your doctor or pharmacist will tell you how to stop gradually

• Never offering your treatment to someone you know, even if they seem to have similar symptoms to you

• If someone (child or adult) has ingested tramadol or codeine that was not intended for them, immediately contact a poison control centre or an emergency service

• For people at risk of overdose who have a naloxone kit (opioid antidote): If the person is drowsy, call the emergency services, administer naloxone and keep them awake until the emergency services arrive

Earlier this year, the number of pills in a box of tramadol was reduced after multiple deaths were linked to addiction of the drug. 

Read more: Tramadol: fewer pills in boxes in France in bid to reduce addiction