WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- A group of U.S. mothers Wednesday launched a campaign to alert parents to the use of cough medications by teenagers to get high.
Recent studies have spotlighted cough-medicine abuse as an alarming trend among young people who intentionally take large amounts of cough medicine to get a "high" from the active ingredient dextromethorphan.
Data collected by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America show that one in 10, or 2.4 million young people, report having abused dextromethorphan-containing medicines to get high.
The "Five Moms: Stopping Cough Medicine Abuse" campaign is designed to spread the word about this dangerous type of drug abuse and get parents involved in stopping it. The campaign was created by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, whose members are the makers of over-the-counter cough medicines.
"Substance-abuse experts agree that education is the key to preventing -- and stopping -- such abuse," said Linda Suydam, president of the association. "Parents have trusted us with the health of their families for more than 50 years. Now it's our turn to alert them to a problem that every family should know about."
The moms range from one whose son committed robbery while high on cough medicine to a school nurse who counsels teens every day about the many temptations teens face. Their goal is to spread the word to every parent in America that cough-medicine abuse is real and that no teen is immune.
For more information, visit FiveMoms.com
