CHPA Launches 5 Moms Campaign to Raise Awareness of Teen Cough Medicine Abuse

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), one of CADCA´s key partners in the fight against cough medicine abuse, launched a new campaign this week that brings together five moms from across the country to spread the word to other parents that teen cough medicine abuse is a serious and growing trend.

Knowing that education is critical to stopping abuse, the Five Moms: Stopping Cough Medicine Abuse on-line campaign will provide parents with information about cough medicine abuse, tips on how to talk to their kids about it, a two-minute video that people can circulate to their friends and family. The campaign web site, www.FiveMoms.com, also will feature “blogs” from the Five Moms, who will share their experiences as they promote the campaign in their communities.

CHPA and the Five Moms – a school nurse, an educator, a sheriff’s deputy/D.A.R.E. officer, an accountant, and an author –launched the campaign by each e-mailing five of their friends with a link to the video. The goal is to circulate the video around the country until it has reached a million moms. They are passionate about alerting parents to a growing substance abuse problem that most don't even know exists.

Earlier this year, CADCA launched a new campaign with CHPA to educate communities about how to prevent cough-medicine abuse among teenagers. A centerpiece of the campaign is an educational toolkit called A Dose of Prevention: Stopping Cough Medicine Abuse Before It Starts. The toolkit is designed to arm parents, educators, retailers, healthcare providers, law enforcement officials, and other community leaders with critical information to address the problem of cough medicine abuse.

Recent studies have highlighted cough medicine abuse as an alarming trend among young people, who ingest large amounts of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines that contain the cough suppressant dextromethorphan to get high. When used correctly, dextromethorphan-containing medicines have a 50-year history of being safe and effective. But when taken in extreme excess--sometimes 25-50 times the recommended dose--dextromethorphan can produce a hallucinogenic high, with very dangerous side effects.

In a recent CADCA survey, 73 percent of anti-drug community coalitions said they do not think parents in their communities are aware that OTC medicine abuse is a problem among youth; 75 percent also said they don’t believe parents are talking with their kids about the problem. Meanwhile, data collected by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America show that one in 10 youths, or 2.4 million young people, report having abused dextromethorphan-containing medicines to get high, suggesting that this type of abuse is a behavior that must be addressed immediately. These teens also are using the Internet to post “how-to’s” and stories about their latest “trips” on a variety of web sites. While they spread the word, too many parents are left in the dark.

The Five Moms are helping to educate the public – and their friends and family about this growing trend. You can do the same by visiting www.FiveMoms.com/tell-a-friend.

To learn about the importance of talking to your children about cough medicine abuse and other ways you can help, please visit the Five Moms Web site at www.FiveMoms.com.