Pubdate: Tue, 28 May 2002
Source: Blade, The (OH)
Copyright: 2002 The Blade
Contact:  http://www.toledoblade.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/48
Author: LUKE SHOCKMAN

COUNSELORS TRY TO SUPPRESS BUZZ OF COUGH TABLETS

Teens carrying Coricidin tablets or other cough medication might be chasing 
a high, not fighting a cold.

That's the message from drug prevention experts who say some teens in Ohio 
and Michigan are taking the drugs in large quantities to get LSD-like "highs."

"They're taking eight to 20 [Coricidin] pills at a time. They get high off 
it," said Bill Geha, a drug counselor for the Sylvania School District. 
"Several kids have overdosed on it."

Mr. Geha, who is education committee chairman of the Lucas County Community 
Prevention Partnership, said he began noticing the problem intensify the 
last two years. This year a partnership-administered survey of Lucas County 
students added a question about cough-medicine abuse. Results are expected 
next month.

Coricidin, which is available in many forms, has been the most popular 
cough medicine for teens to abuse, Mr. Geha said.

Teens often refer to the drug by one of a variety of nicknames, including 
DXM, Triple C, robo, skittles, dex, tussin, and Vitamin D.

The forms of Coricidin that concern experts are those that contain 
dextromethorphan. Cough syrup containing the substance have been abused for 
years, but tablets containing the drug can be far more potent.

No deaths have been reported locally from abusing the drug, but in large 
quantities they can be deadly. Symptoms of abuse include hallucinations, 
confusion, excitation, increased heart rate, elevated temperature, dry 
mouth, slurred speech, and seizures.

The tablet form of the drug have several lures for abusers:

Their small size makes them easy to steal. Some pharmacies have placed the 
drugs behind the counter to prevent theft.

Because the drugs are a common cough medication and are sold 
over-the-counter, they don't raise suspicion from parents or other adults.

Cough syrup taken in large quantities can cause upset stomach.

While cough-medicine abuse is catching the attention of some drug 
prevention officials, most parents are unaware of the problem.

"You worry a lot about violence, illegal drugs, tobacco. The idea of 
over-the-counter medicines is not something you consider as a problem. And 
many times parents [are] totally unaware of this issue," said Alvin 
Stephens, director of health and physical education for Toledo Public Schools.

While parents might be unaware, they've got lots of company.

The abuse of Coricidin tablets "is something that's relatively new and 
unique, and not even much is known about it in the health professions," 
said Dr. Earl Siegel, co-director of the Drug and Poison Information Center 
at Cincinnati Children's Medical Center. The center serves about half of 
Ohio, including the Toledo area. He said though cough-medicine abuse 
doesn't appear to be widespread, "usually with abuse, we kind of only see 
the tip of the iceberg."

"It's not like it's an epidemic," but it is being abused in northwest Ohio, 
said Bruce Johnson, director of chemical dependency for Connecting Point of 
Toledo, which treats teen substance abusers.

Some local pharmacists said they hadn't noticed any problems. However, some 
have taken precautions such as placing the drug behind the counter. 
Spokesmen for pharmacies in Kroger and The Pharm said they don't have 
company-wide policies on placing cough medicine behind the counter, but 
individual pharmacies can do so if they feel it's necessary.

School-based drug abuse prevention officials are often the first to notice 
abuse problems, but the situation varied widely among districts questioned. 
Drug prevention officials in the Sylvania, Toledo, and Monroe school 
districts said cough medication is being abused. Their counterparts in 
other districts, including those in Perrysburg, Sandusky, Defiance, Bowling 
Green, and North Baltimore said they hadn't heard of any problems.
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