Survey Shows Coalitions Concerned About Over-the-Counter Cough Medicine Abuse

Community coalition leaders consider prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicine abuse a major problem in their communities. That's according to a recent survey conducted in October by CADCA, in partnership with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), to explore cough medicine abuse among communities.

CADCA's survey aimed to determine how much knowledge coalitions have about OTC medicine abuse, particularly cough medicines containing dextromethorphan (DXM), and whether it is a problem in their community. While at recommended doses, DXM produces little or no physical symptoms, when abused in large doses, it can cause a variety of serious effects, such as impaired judgment and mental functioning, loss of coordination, dizziness, nausea, hot flashes, hallucinations, brain damage and seizures.

Among the 313 coalition leaders surveyed, 77 percent believed that the abuse of medicines-both prescription (Rx) and OTC-is, or likely is, a major problem in their community. The survey also found that the majority of coalition leaders-about 80 percent-are aware of the abuse of DXM and 66 percent said cough medicine abuse was a particular problem among youth.

But while coalition leaders are well versed on DXM abuse, many of them believe that parents are in the dark about the issue. Only eight percent responded that parents were aware of DXM abuse and 75 percent responded that parents do not talk to their children and teens about the dangers of abusing DXM. In fact, many coalition leaders also felt that schools were not adequately addressing the issue, with more than half of respondents noting that school surveys in their community do not include questions about the abuse of cough medicines among youth.

CADCA's survey also asked whether coalitions were well-equipped to educate the community about cough medicine abuse, and nearly half of the respondents said they didn't have the necessary tools to do so. However, 90 percent expressed a definite need to address the issue in their communities and welcomed more information.

"It's clear from the survey that illicit drug use is not the only problem communities are facing. Over-the-counter cough medicine abuse is also troubling many community leaders," said Gen. Arthur T. Dean, CADCA Chairman and CEO. "Parents and communities need tools and information about cough medicine abuse so that they can prevent teens from putting themselves in harms way."

In recent years, abuse of Rx and OTC cough medicines containing DXM, among adolescents has increased dramatically. In fact, according to the last National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the non-medical use of prescription drugs alone among 18- to 25-year-olds jumped from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.3 percent in 2005 and in a recent study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, one in 11 teens reported having abused over-the-counter cough medicines to get high. In addition, recent SAMHSA data showed that in 2004 12,584 hospital emergency department visits by 12-20-year-olds were attributed to DXM.

Eric Gregory, MA, CPP, Executive Director of The Save Our Kids Coalition in Bowling Green, Ky., noted that the Internet is partly to blame for the rising rates in OTC cough medicine abuse. "The information and exposure that kids can find on the Internet play a big role. Now you go on a search engine and can get hundreds of thousands of pages on everything from how to prevent over-the-counter medicine abuse to the best ways to use it," he said. "The Internet is a powerful tool for community prevention, but it's also a liability."

In response to the survey, CADCA and CHPA have joined forces to develop a new educational community toolkit that will help coalition and prevention leaders mobilize their communities and educate key stakeholders about the dangers of RX and OTC cough medicine abuse. The toolkit will include materials such as fact sheets on cough medicine abuse targeted toward key stakeholders in the community, media outreach templates including a news release and letter to the editor, a promotional events planner and camera-ready images.

The toolkit will be unveiled at CADCA's National Leadership Forum XVII in February 2007 during two workshops. During an in-depth three-hour pre-conference session on Feb. 12 at 1 p.m., coalition leaders will discuss how the toolkit can be used to implement community-level strategies to prevent medicine abuse. Working in breakout groups, participants will leave prepared to put the toolkit to use in their communities. A second workshop held on Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. will provide coalition experts with an overview on trends in prescription and over-the-counter cough medicine abuse and demonstrate how the toolkit can be used to implement community-level strategies to prevent medicine abuse.

To learn more about the cough medicine abuse workshops and other Forum workshops, visit the CADCA Forum Web site.