Will there be imprisonment for "Tussal" in Belarus?

Pharmacists of dozens of Minsk pharmacies shake their heads when they are asked a question whether they have "Tussal" - they say it's a good medicine but it hasn't been in free sale for a long time by now. Euroradio failed to find this medicine in Hrodna, Baranavichy and Pinsk.

"I don't even remember when exactly this preparation disappeared, — says the pharmacist of one of Minsk pharmacies to Euroradio's correspondent, —"Tussal" vanished some 2-3 years ago and we haven't sold it since then".

However, pharmacists cannot say exactly when and why "Tussal" disappeared. They say that it disappeared recently due absence of the right for realization, and recall some bad story connected with this medicine.

"It contains a narcotic substance, and drug addicts know all preparations which contain psychotropic substances. Usually, we do not take such suspicious medicines for sale, only when a pharmaceutical company delivers them by itself".

Belarusians Alyaksandr Chachurau and Syarhei Lahun were sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment for selling the medical preparation "Tussal" five years ago in Moscow. These pills were considered psychotropic substances at that time in Russia. The Belarusian Ministry of Health Care made selling of these medicines more complicated - only by a doctor's recipe, while before this the pills were sold freely without any papers. 

Euroradio found out that the preparation disappeared from Minsk pharmacies because its registration expired.

"The registration expired on September 30, 2009 and it was not renewed and the pharmaceutical companies decided not to renew it. Now this preparation is prohibited for realization and use at the territory of the Republic of Belarus", — Euroradio has been told in the Center of Testings and Expertise of the Ministry of Health Care.

Moreover, one may face...imprisonment for storage and realization of "Tussal" in Belarus!

"Up to 15 years of imprisonment", — says deputy director of the Administration for drugs control and resistance to people trafficking of the Interior Ministry Vasil Losich.

Pharmacists offer "Tussin+" instead of "Tussal" now. However, only under a doctor's recipe.

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