Cough and Cold Medicine Abuse
Thursday, March 20, 2008

According to a recent federal study on drug abuse, one in 20 young people abuse cough and cold medication, such as NyQuil or Robitussin, to get high. Dr. Ken Davis tells us more about the study in today’s 60 Second Housecall.

More than 5 percent of adolescents and young adults have used cough and cold medicines to get high.

According to a recent Federal report, 3.1 million children and adults between 12 and 25 years of age abused over-the-counter cold remedies in 2006.

Many popular cough and cold medicines use an active ingredient called dextromethorphan.  In high doses it can produce a high similar to PCP and other hallucinogens.

Among survey respondents who said they had abused a number of popular cough and cold medicines in the past year:

�   31 percent said they’d misused NyQuil products

�   18 percent said they’d misused Robitussin products

�   39 percent said they’d misused other over-the counter medications

An estimated 95 million packages of cough and cold medicine are sold in the U.S. each year.

Researchers warn that parents should keep an eye on unused cold medicines in their cabinets to be sure they're not being misused.

For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.