FDA: Let's make cough-syrup require a prescription!

[General Zod]

Thank you retarded teenagers.

Last year, more than 8,000 people, mostly teens, were treated at emergency rooms because they abused over-the-counter cough suppressants, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Now in an effort to control these substances, the FDA is considering whether to make medicines like Nyquil, Robitussin and Tylenol Cold tablets, prescription drugs.

An FDA advisory committee, which is meeting today in College Park, Maryland will review data, provided to them by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The DEA, which asked for the hearing back in 2007, says it saw a 70 percent increase in emergency room visits between 2004 and 2008, because of teens using large amounts of cough syrup to get high.

The ingredient in these medicines that creates the euphoria is dextromethorphan, also known as "dex" or DXM. It's found in many products at drug stores. Kids who abuse these suppressants, many times mix them with prescription drugs or marijuana, according to experts. The practice has a few names including "robotripping". The combination can cause a spike in heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature, and if a child consumes enough of it, it can be deadly.

Misty Fetko, a registered nurse from Santa Barbara, California knew the dangers of illegal drugs and alcohol. She talked to both her sons about it. But she never suspected her eldest boy, Carl, was using cough syrup to get high. That's until she started seeing empty bottles of it in their home and in his car. By the time it dawned on her that he was in danger, it was too late. A few weeks before he was scheduled to attend college, she found him in his bed, unresponsive. His heart had stopped.

Autopsy reports showed a combination of high doses of DEX in his system, along with other prescription medicines. "I never would have thought this to happen." said Fetko. " We use to lock up our liquor. Instead, I should have been locking up my medicine cabinet."

Fetko's family is not alone. Eight percent or 1.3 million teens have reported abusing over-the-counter cough suppressants over the last year, according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America reports. The statistic may seem high, but it's much lower than the number of teens abusing other substances like inhalants and marijuana. So to many drug experts, clamping down on these medicines, that more than 40 million people use safely to help fight coughs and colds, seems a little extreme.

"This is not the biggest drug problem facing America's families, these days." says Steve Pasierb, president of Partnership. "But, obviously, the problem needs to be addressed. We think parental education is key."

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association agrees. As a representative for hundreds of drug manufacturers, the CHPA believes very few parents have heard about cough suppressant abuse and if they knew, they would address it.

"Many parents don't know about this type of drug abuse." notes Linda Suydam, president of CHPA. "We have found that parents who do discuss drugs with their kids have a 50 percent better outcome of keeping their kids away from any drug form."

If the advisory committee agrees that these drugs should become prescription, they will forward their recommendation to the FDA, which will make its decision based on the committee's findings. Although the FDA does not have to follow the committee's suggestion, they traditionally do.

Just fucking great. I can only hope that they don't decide to go through with this because I really don't need the extra expense of a copay and bullshit tacked on bills to see a doctor just for cough syrup if I get a sore throat. Frankly I don't see why they just can't lock it behind the counter and simply require an ID to purchase instead.

[TithonusSyndrome]

Now in an effort to control these substances, the FDA is considering whether to make medicines like Nyquil, Robitussin and Tylenol Cold tablets, prescription drugs.

Just drugs like these? Not ones that don't contain dex? That's hardly all of the market; it's not as if teens can just grab any old cough medicine and start tripping balls. There'll be plenty of other cough medicines left for over-the-counter purchase if that's the intended target of the FDA's proposed legislation. Tough luck, but depending on what they're actually intending to do, not retarded on it's face.

[dragon]

Thats why you have to be 18 to buy this stuff at Walmart.

[General Zod]

Now in an effort to control these substances, the FDA is considering whether to make medicines like Nyquil, Robitussin and Tylenol Cold tablets, prescription drugs.

Just drugs like these? Not ones that don't contain dex? That's hardly all of the market; it's not as if teens can just grab any old cough medicine and start tripping balls. There'll be plenty of other cough medicines left for over-the-counter purchase if that's the intended target of the FDA's proposed legislation. Tough luck, but depending on what they're actually intending to do, not retarded on it's face.

It seems stupid when they could just lock them behind the counter and require an ID to purchase instead of making people go through the hassle and expense of getting a prescription. Here's a list of a significant number of otc drugs with dex, which is more than a few.

[Cecelia5578]

I think showing an ID to be 18 is sufficient enough; I can't believe anyone with the knowledge of the fucked up nature of health care and insurance in this country would support making syrup with DXM scrip only.

Teenagers overdosing and dying because of DXM is serious, but I think to a certain degree teenagers are always going to do stupid shit (alcohol for starters), and its not as if everyone who takes DXM dies. The OP states the dead teenager had more drugs in his system than just DXM.

I guess overall I see it as an overreaction because 1. DXM is hardly a killer drug of large numbers of teenagers, anecdotal stories to the contrary and 2. It fucks over responsible adults who lack insurance who just want some fucking cough syrup.

[Jaepheth]

Could they just limit the number of doses permitted per bottle?
If you make it so that it requires drinking 3+ bottles to get a 100lb+ person high, but then limit each person to buying no more than 2 bottles a day... then you could make getting high via cough syrup really, really inconvenient.

Sure, they could stash up bottles over a long period, or visit multiple stores and then down them all. But i imagine the inconvenience should significantly cut down the number of people OD'ing.

[TithonusSyndrome]

Now in an effort to control these substances, the FDA is considering whether to make medicines like Nyquil, Robitussin and Tylenol Cold tablets, prescription drugs.

Just drugs like these? Not ones that don't contain dex? That's hardly all of the market; it's not as if teens can just grab any old cough medicine and start tripping balls. There'll be plenty of other cough medicines left for over-the-counter purchase if that's the intended target of the FDA's proposed legislation. Tough luck, but depending on what they're actually intending to do, not retarded on it's face.

It seems stupid when they could just lock them behind the counter and require an ID to purchase instead of making people go through the hassle and expense of getting a prescription. Here's a list of a significant number of otc drugs with dex, which is more than a few.

Undisputed, I just wanted to point out that the broad terms of the article's title weren't quite what the FDA had in mind from the looks of things.

Could they just limit the number of doses permitted per bottle?
If you make it so that it requires drinking 3+ bottles to get a 100lb+ person high, but then limit each person to buying no more than 2 bottles a day... then you could make getting high via cough syrup really, really inconvenient.

Sure, they could stash up bottles over a long period, or visit multiple stores and then down them all. But i imagine the inconvenience should significantly cut down the number of people OD'ing.

Principally, before being a downer for recreational use as these kids are using it, dex is a cough suppressant. Reducing the access to sufficient dex content to get high will mean it will have less chance of working as a cough suppressant - do you want to drink more than a capful of cough syrup to get cough relief, anyways? Or buy five bottles where only one was sufficient before?

[Knife]

They already require ID to buy it where I live, much like a beer sale. That said, I doubt they'll make it Rx, then they'd have to regulate it.

[Jaepheth]

Principally, before being a downer for recreational use as these kids are using it, dex is a cough suppressant. Reducing the access to sufficient dex content to get high will mean it will have less chance of working as a cough suppressant - do you want to drink more than a capful of cough syrup to get cough relief, anyways? Or buy five bottles where only one was sufficient before?

I meant limit the physical size of the bottle, not the concentration of the active ingredient. It would still be inconvenient for legitimate users as well as abusers though.

[General Zod]

Principally, before being a downer for recreational use as these kids are using it, dex is a cough suppressant. Reducing the access to sufficient dex content to get high will mean it will have less chance of working as a cough suppressant - do you want to drink more than a capful of cough syrup to get cough relief, anyways? Or buy five bottles where only one was sufficient before?

I meant limit the physical size of the bottle, not the concentration of the active ingredient. It would still be inconvenient for legitimate users as well as abusers though.

Or you could simply put in an ID requirement instead of stupid restrictions that don't do anything but make it more inconvenient for legitimate users.

[Kanastrous]

I discovered recently that there are on-line pharmacies that will sell you stuff like Xanax, Tramadol, Vicodin, Valium, you name it...and while you do need a prescription you can just describe your 'symptoms' to one of their doctors on-line and get an on-line prescription no questions asked. No examination, nothing. Just ask, pay a fee, and ye shall receive the pharmacological goodies of your choice, at a discount, yet, by the overnight delivery service of your choosing.

Makes you wonder why anyone bothers fucking around with OTC anything.

[General Zod]

I discovered recently that there are on-line pharmacies that will sell you stuff like Xanax, Tramadol, Vicodin, Valium, you name it...and while you do need a prescription you can just describe your 'symptoms' to one of their doctors on-line and get an on-line prescription no questions asked. No examination, nothing. Just ask, pay a fee, and ye shall receive the pharmacological goodies of your choice, at a discount, yet, by the overnight delivery service of your choosing.

Makes you wonder why anyone bothers fucking around with OTC anything.

You realize most of those pharmacies are scams right?

[Kanastrous]

I didn't research them much beyond looking at some sites. I don't know what proportion of scamfulness is involved. If even a small proportion of them really do business that way...that's a little bit scary.

[General Zod]

I didn't research them much beyond looking at some sites. I don't know what proportion of scamfulness is involved. If even a small proportion of them really do business that way...that's a little bit scary.

Usually they're yet another way to get your credit card number or bank details without actually providing you anything.

[loomer]

Or they provide you with nothing but chalk pills if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, say hello to Mr. Poisoning. There are legit online pharmacies but I'd say any that does online 'doctor' consults is a scam.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Or they provide you with nothing but chalk pills if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, say hello to Mr. Poisoning. There are legit online pharmacies but I'd say any that does online 'doctor' consults is a scam.

Not quite true, there are some legitimate ones operating in Canada because the demand for seniors to get really cheap generic drugs from Canada is big enough that it can support a few such legitimate businesses.

[RedImperator]

Now in an effort to control these substances, the FDA is considering whether to make medicines like Nyquil, Robitussin and Tylenol Cold tablets, prescription drugs.

Just drugs like these? Not ones that don't contain dex? That's hardly all of the market; it's not as if teens can just grab any old cough medicine and start tripping balls. There'll be plenty of other cough medicines left for over-the-counter purchase if that's the intended target of the FDA's proposed legislation. Tough luck, but depending on what they're actually intending to do, not retarded on it's face.

If it doesn't have dex, you might as well be drinking dishwater for all the good it does. At least that's what it's like for me. When I have a bad cold, I'm a wheezing ruin without that stuff. It's incredibly aggravating just thinking about having to make a doctor's appointment and get a scrip for something I can buy in five minutes now.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

I expect the pharmaceutical companies to fight this tooth and nail. I'd assume cough-syrup is a huge seasonal market, judging by the number of commercials I see. With the chronic lack of health insurance among the masses in this country, making cough syrup prescription only will put it out of 'casual' reach of a majority of people, and thus cause sales to go through the floor.