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Prevent Teen Cough Medicine Abuse

There's no doubt about it: teen substance abuse is a huge concern for parents. Preventing drug abuse involves a long-term effort. Where cough medicine abuse is concerned, there are a number of steps to take to help keep your teen from abusing.

Your To-Do List

1. Take a moment to set aside a time to talk to your teen about medicine abuse: Teens who learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are 50% less likely to use drugs. The Partnership at Drugfree.org’s Talk Kit provides tips for starting the conversation.
2. Take an inventory of medicines in your home that could be abused. These include both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. For a comprehensive list of commonly abused prescription and OTC cough medicines, see this WebMD slideshow.
3. Discard any unwanted or expired medicines. If you have no use for old or unwanted medicines, there’s no need to keep them in the home. Make sure you dispose of unused medicines properly.
4. Store remaining medicines in a safe and secure place. Commonly abused medicines should be kept in an area where teens cannot access them.
5. Monitor your medicines. Each week take note and keep track of how much medicine you have. If you start to see your medicine disappearing, this may be a sign of abuse. If you suspect you teen is abusing medicine, take action right away.
6. Share what you know about teen cough medicine abuse with other families and parents.

Making or Taking the Opportunity to Talk

Figuring out what to say to your teen on some of life’s tougher issues, like medicine abuse, can be challenging. How do you get started? Look for opportunities to talk to your teen in your day-to-day activities or take the time to create an opportunity to start a conversation, such as:

0. When a “teaching” moment arises: For example, a news story about a celebrity or athlete’s issue with substance abuse can provide a relevant and timely reason to bring up the issue.
0. Driving in a car: Sometimes it’s easier to talk when you’re not facing each other, and are both looking ahead.
0. In the evening: Girls tend to respond better in the late evening before bedtime because of hormonal changes.
0. Via text message: While nothing takes the place of a face-to-face conversation, text messaging is an opportunity to talk to teens on their terms and open up new channels of communication. It’s also a non-confrontational way to start conversations about sensitive topics, like cough medicine abuse.

To get the most out of the conversation, know what you want to say and how you want to say it before you get started. Visit TimetoTalk.org to find suggested scripts and get coaching from the experts.

What You Say Does Make a Difference

The good news for parents is that studies tracking teen attitudes toward drugs reveal that one of the most critical influences on kids’ decisions about taking drugs is the input of parents. In fact, kids who say they learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50 percent less likely to abuse drugs.

For the “Who, What, and Why” on your teen’s brain and helpful hints on how to talk to them about the dangers of cough medicine abuse, visit A Parent’s Guide to the Teen Brain.

 

 

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