Kusticker Craze: How a US$5 Syrup Is Hooking Zimbabwe’s Youth

HARARE – A new cough syrup called Astra Pain is turning township tuckshops into drug dens, as Zimbabwean teens chase its addictive high for just five dollars a bottle.

Smuggled from South Africa and nicknamed “kusticker,” the syrup is sending users to hospital and alarming families, doctors, and police — all fearing the rise of another Bronco-style epidemic.

Sold in 100ml brown bottles with a green label showing a cartoonishly intoxicated face, Astra Pain is marketed as a remedy for mild pain and fever.

Each 5ml dose contains Paracetamol, Codeine Phosphate, Promethazine Hydrochloride, alcohol, and sugar — a combination that medical experts say becomes dangerously addictive when consumed in large amounts.

A senior clinician at a private hospital warned that the mixture poses serious health risks.

“It depresses breathing, clouds judgment and in high doses, can lead to coma or death. What we are seeing is a repeat of the Bronco crisis, only with a new label,” he said.

Teenagers say the syrup is more appealing than previous drugs due to its taste and accessibility.

“It is cheaper, easier to get and tastes nicer than what we used before. You mix it with soda, and it keeps you buzzing,” said a 19-year-old user from Harare.

The effects are already being felt.

A 17-year-old girl from Highfield described collapsing at a party after drinking the syrup.

“My friends thought it was just cough medicine. I woke up on a stretcher at the clinic.

“I do not remember anything,” she said.

According to The Herald, Astra Pain is not registered for sale or use in Zimbabwe.

Davison Kaiyo, spokesperson for the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), confirmed that its importation and distribution are illegal.

“It is a criminal offence to sell unregistered medicines to the public, as such practices pose serious health risks,” he said.

Despite its illegal status, the syrup is widely available in township tuckshops and on street corners.

Drug runners in Harare admit that youths are their biggest customers.

One seller explained: “I stock it for pain relief, but the youths come in the evenings and buy two or three bottles at a time. The bottles disappear fast.”

Families are struggling to cope.

Miriam Mazanhi, whose 20-year-old son was hospitalised after an overdose, said the addiction crept in unnoticed.

“We thought it was harmless medicine. By the time we realised it was addictive, he was already hooked.

“He even started stealing from us to buy more.”

Addiction specialists say Zimbabwe is unprepared for another wave of cough syrup abuse.

Rehabilitation centres are few and public facilities are overwhelmed.

“This is not just a policing problem, it is a health crisis. Unless the Government acts now with tighter regulation, education and support, Astra Pain will devastate another generation,” said an addiction expert.

Pharmacists argue that the syrup exploits legal loopholes.

Although each dose contains low levels of codeine, users consume large quantities to achieve a powerful opioid effect.

“The law regulates per-dose content, not consumption patterns,” explained pharmacist Phillip Kunaka.

Community leaders say the impact is already visible — from rising school absenteeism and petty theft to youths collapsing at social events.

Agrippa Masango, a youth worker in Harare, said families are being torn apart.

“This is destroying families and futures in real time. Parents do not realise until it is too late.”

With social media glorifying “kusticker” culture and bottles flooding the market, pressure is mounting on authorities to crack down on smuggling routes and tighten controls on codeine-based syrups before another addiction epidemic spirals out of control.