What is Tramadol? What is it used for? Is it illegal?
A BRITISH woman has been jailed for three years for smuggling 290 Tramadol tablets into Egypt.
Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, was arrested by Egyptian police at Hurghada International Airport on October 9 by Egyptian police after being caught with the painkillers in her suitcase.
She said she was carrying Tramadol, available on prescription in the UK, to treat her Egyptian partner’s back pain.
But the painkiller, while legal in the UK, is banned in Egypt.
Her family say the shop assistant did not know carrying the drug is illegal in Egypt and say she was just “daft”.
What is Tramadol and what is it used for?
Tramadol is an opiate like codeine and heroin, and is highly addictive.
It is used to treat moderate to severe pain and works by blocking pain signals travelling from the nerves to the brain, according to NHS England.
The drug can be used to treat longer-term pain relief when weaker painkillers are no longer effective.
Users will experience feelings of warmth and wellbeing, relaxation and sleepiness.
What are the side effects of Tramadol?
Although Tramadol is a class C drug in Britain, it shares many properties with heroin and has additional risk factors due to its effects on serotonin levels.
Side effects can include fatigue, drowsiness, constipation, nausea and retching.
Severe side effects can lead to diarrhoea, dizziness, excessive sweating, hallucinations and fits.
Tramadol has also been linked with a potentially life-threatening condition called serotonin syndrome in which serotonin receptors are over stimulated.
This can lead to symptoms such as a high fever, rapid pulse, shivering, trembling, agitation and confusion.
Mixing Tramadol with alcohol can prove fatal as an overdose is more likely.
The painkiller can also cause “cravings” in users and a “psychological desire to keep on using”, according to drug advice website Frank.
Is Tramadol illegal?
In the UK, Tramadol is only available on prescription through a doctor or healthcare professional.
It is illegal to supply the drug or give it away to other people and anyone caught doing so could spend up to two years in prison.
Tramadol is banned in some other countries, including Egypt, where it said to be one of the county’s most abused drugs.
Laura Plummer has said she had “no idea” about the law when she arrived with the pain relief for a holiday with boyfriend Omar Caboo at the Red Sea resort of Hughada.
The jailed tourist is now sharing a cell with 25 inmates and her family say they fear for her mental wellbeing.