Kymenlaakso to distribute free naloxone nasal spray

Kymenlaakso’s regional public health and social services authority will begin distributing naloxone nasal spray free of charge to prevent deaths from opioid overdoses, Yle reports.

The first packs will be available on Monday at substance-use clinics known as Piste in Kouvola, Kotka and Hamina. Staff can write a prescription at the clinic, and customers can take the medicine with them immediately.

Nurses will discuss naloxone with everyone who visits the clinics, including people collecting clean drug-use equipment. They will also ask about opioid use and assess the person’s risk of overdose, said Topias Kekkonen, a manager in opioid substitution treatment services.

Relatives of people who use opioids are also encouraged to ask social and healthcare professionals about access to the nasal spray.

When administered quickly during an overdose, naloxone can reverse the effects of opioids, restore breathing and prevent serious consequences before emergency medical services arrive. An ambulance must still be called, Kekkonen said, but the medicine can provide additional time in an emergency.

About 200 people die from drug-related overdoses in Finland each year, with the figures particularly concerning among people under 25.

Naloxone nasal spray has been available from pharmacies at an individual cost of about 50 euros. Kekkonen said he could not recall meeting anyone who had bought it themselves.

A legislative amendment is being prepared to make naloxone widely available free of charge and anonymously without a prescription.

The medicine is already being distributed free of charge in at least the wellbeing services counties of Southwest Finland and Western Uusimaa.

The free starter packs in Kymenlaakso are being provided through the Elämä edellä project, funded by Finland’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Distribution will continue until next summer. Kekkonen estimates that several hundred people in Kymenlaakso may need the spray.