More Teens Abusing Cough Suppressants

Ivanhoe Newswire
Tuesday, December 5, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- More teens are using cough medicine to get high.

New research from the University of California, San Francisco shows the number of people abusing dextromethorphan -- a cough suppressant -- was up 10-fold in California between 1999 and 2004, an increase that parallels national trends. And about three-fourths of the abuse cases were among adolescents ages 9 to 17.

The study analyzed the cases of dextromethorphan abuse in California reported to the California Poison Control System (CPCS) and compared them to national trends from similar networks.

Results show youths between ages 9 and 17 made up 74.5 percent of the dextromethorphan abuse cases. And cases among this age group increased more than 15-fold between 1999 and 2004. Similar trends were seen nationwide.

The study found the most abuse was among 15 and 16 year olds. And the most commonly abused product was Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold Tablets, followed by Robitussin.

High doses of dextromethorphan can lead to severe side effects including rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, and psychosis.

Researchers say there could be several reasons for the increase in abuse, including the hallucinogenic effects of these inexpensive medicines, and the false perception that they are safe in high doses. Also, the drugs are commonly kept in households and children now have more unsupervised access to the Internet where they can learn about abusing dextromethorphan.

The authors conclude preventive measures such as putting dextromethorphan-containing products behind the counter at pharmacies may help slow the growing trend of abuse among adolescents.

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SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2006;160:1217-1222