About Teens & the Abuse of OTC Drugs

According to the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study of 2004, extremely high numbers of teenagers are abusing over-the-counter, or OTC, drugs. These studies indicate that as many as 9 percent of teenagers have used drugs found at their neighborhood stores to get high.

About

• Most teenagers getting high from OTC drugs are using cough medicines. They are usually ingesting 10 to 50 times the recommended amount of cough syrup.

Effects

• The active ingredient in cough syrup is dextromethorphan, and when taken in large amounts, it causes hallucinogenic effects. Abusing OTC medicines such as cough syrup can also cause effects such as impaired vision, altered speech, impaired mental functions and coma.

Misconceptions

• The greatest misconception about OTC drugs is that they are safe. Because teenagers know that these drugs are legal, they think that taking them in large quantities will not hurt them.

Warnings

• If a teen is found to have taken an excess of cough syrup and is vomiting, sweating, non-responsive and has an irregular pulse, seek medical help for the teen immediately.

Prevention

• The best way to prevent OTC drug abuse is to talk with teens about the dangers and misconceptions of it.