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10 Things Every Parent Should Know About Over-the-Counter Medicine Abuse

Content provided by: Better Medicine from Healthgrades

1. The statistics are frightening

Government surveys show that 3.1 million people age 12 and older have misused OTC medications in their lifetime—with nearly 4 percent of misuse among those younger than 18. Nearly 6 percent of 10th graders and roughly 5 percent of high school seniors report abusing cough or cold medicines, particularly those containing dextromethorphan.

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Medically Reviewed By: Williams, Robert, MD

Last Annual Review Date: 2012-07-19

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1 in 10 (10% or 2.4 million) teens report abusing cough medicine to get high.