Preventing Teen Abuse of Prescription and OTC Drugs>

In the good old days, it was easy to know if you teenage child was using drugs. Yes, the ‘good old days’ because the drugs of the choice then were the street drugs, which were easy to identify. However, the trend with today’s teens has changed a lot. Many of today’s teens view street drugs as “harmful” and “bad” especially due to increased awareness and the stigma attached to it. However, the disturbing trend to be noticed is the increased use and abuse of prescription (Rx) drugs, and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.>

It is easy for young kids to be mistaken as these are the drugs made by professional manufacturers, used to treat various ailments and the general perception is that these drugs are “safe”. Sure these drugs are produced by professionals and are used to treat ailments, but they are only safe if taken in the prescribed quantities. Abusing such drugs can cause addiction and can even prove to be fatal in the long run. A study has found that three out of five parents discussed a lot about street drugs like marijuana with their children, but only a third of the parents have ever discussed the risk of using prescription drugs to get high.>

Needles to say, lack of adequate knowledge, coupled with easy availability, has made Rx and OTC medicines a favorite with teens who are looking to get a quick high. According to a >2005 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS)> data, a number of teens have huge misconceptions about the perceived safety of prescriptions drugs->

• Two in five teens (40 percent or 9.4 million) agree that Rx medicines are “much safer” to use as compared to illegal drugs.

• Nearly one-third of teens (31 percent or 7.3 million) believe there’s “nothing wrong” with using Rx medicines without a prescription “once in a while”.

• Nearly three out of 10 teens (29 percent or 6.8 million) believe prescription pain relievers are not addictive.

• More than half of teens (55 percent or 13 million) don’t agree strongly that using cough medicines to get high is risky.

It is obvious that these teens are naïve to the dangers of abusing medical drugs. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2005, almost half (48%) of all emergency department visits resulting from overdoses from an ingredient found in many cough syrups, dextromethorphan (DXM), were patients 12-20 years-old. A disturbing trend among today’s teens is “pharming”, where few people get together and gulp down a handful of prescription drugs, or their combination, often mixing them with alcohol or in combination with other street drugs like marijuana. This can be very dangerous and can prove to be lethal.

It’s obvious that sourcing such drugs is not a problem for today’s teens. The first choice to look for them is their parents’ medicine cabinet. If you find that your medicine supplies are dwindling faster than it should have been, be cautious. Teens also get such drugs from friends, relatives, and are readily swapped in schools. Also, the OTC medicines are can be sourced from any pharmacy store, and teens often go to more than one store to source such drugs in large enough quantities so as to be able to “trip”, without raising suspicion.

Hence it is upto the parents, first of all, to be themselves aware, and then take care that their teens are not indulging in such reckless behavior. Teens should be properly educated about the harmful effects of such drugs, and they should also be made aware about the implications, both legal and physical.

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Information on this page last updated on 06/10/2007