“The OTC; Battling The Over-The-Counter High”

If a drug is available over-the-counter, it’s safe and free from abuse right? WRONG! During the past few years, calls to poison control centers about the misuse and abuse of over-the-counter medications have increased. In 2003, poison control centers in the United States received twice as many calls about one form of over-the-counter drug abuse than they did three years earlier. Emergency room visits because of OTC abuse are also on the way up. Young people and adults alike are using cough syrups, cough suppressants, motion sickness drugs, and more to get high.

While over-the-counter medications like Dextromethorphan (DXM) is used safely by millions of Americans each year to relieve coughs due to the common cold or flu, there have been reports of some young people intentionally abusing products containing the ingredient in an effort to get high. During the hour-long broadcast, viewers will hear a variety of perspectives—including a representative from the poison control center network, a retail drug store loss prevention expert and a person in treatment who has struggled with DXM addiction.

Viewers will also learn about other potentially dangerous over-the-counter medications and what some stores, consumer healthcare organizations, and communities are doing to help combat the problem.

Get the facts about the abuse of over-the-counter drugs and what you can do to help prevent it!

This broadcast will answer the following questions:

What OTC drugs are abused?
What is DXM?
What are the effects of DXM abuse?
How common is the abuse of DXM-containing products by teens?
What are some common brand names of products that contain DXM?
What are slang terms?
What should parents know about DXM and OTC abuse?
What types of DXM sites are found online?
Why is it important for parents to monitor their children’s Internet usage?
What is the nonprescription medicine industry doing about the potential abuse of DXM?
Where can parents go for more help?
What’s being done about the problem?
How can you help?

Moderator:

Kareemah Abdullah, Deputy Director, Training and Technical Assistance, National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute

Expert Panel:

• Dr. Vince Speranza, Managing Director, Poison Control Information Center, Tampa, FL
• Elizabeth Assey, Director of Communications and Media Relations, Consumer Healthcare Products Association
• Bryon Wheeldon, Regional Loss Prevention Manager, Walgreens

This broadcast is made possible through a partnership with the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training Program (MCTFT), St. Petersburg College and the Florida National Guard.