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Good Medicines, Bad Behavior

Cough medicine abuse is a situation of 'good medicines, bad behavior.' The fact of the matter is that teen cough medicine abuse does not happen by accident; it involves intentionally taking large amounts of medication to get high. The ingredient in over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines that teens are abusing is dextromethorphan, or DXM. While DXM-containing medicines are safe and effective when used as directed, they can be dangerous when abused in large amounts.

Educational Icon Helps You Understand the Issue

The makers of OTC cough medicines containing DXM have introduced an educational icon on their medicines’ packages. The icon helps raise awareness about the teen abuse of cough medicines and provides the StopMedicineAbuse.org web site as a resource for more information. It also provides a great conversation starter with your teens about cough medicine abuse.

Help other parents learn more by sharing this icon on your Facebook page or Twitter account.

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