Content about Dextromethorphan

WASHINGTON — Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Ark., on Friday introduced the Preventing Abuse of Cough Treatments Act of 2013, which would require retailers to restrict the sale of dextromethorphan-containing products to adults. The bill also would restrict the sale of raw, bulk DXM to FDA-approved entities. 

Many retailers have age restrictions on the sale of DXM products already in place; and similar legislation to this has been enforced in California since 2012. 

WASHINGTON — The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association on Tuesday joined forces to honor the Bucks County, Pa.-based Bucks Promise for Youth and Communities with this year’s Dose of Prevention award. This award recognizes community-based organizations that have implemented successful initiatives to raise awareness of the dangers of prescription drug abuse and OTC cough medicine abuse.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — AccuDial Pharmaceutical recently launched four products as part of its Go-Green pediatric liquid cough-cold lineup that features dosing information on a rotating label, a larger 6-point font and a dosing cup that's shrink-wrapped to the top of the container.

ALLEGAN, Mich., and MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J. — Perrigo and Tris Pharma have launched a private-label version of Delsym extended-release oral liquid suspension containing dextromethorphan polistirex.

The comapnies said the product, which is indicated for the temporary treatment of cough due to minor throat and bronchial irritation, will be marketed under major U.S. retailer and wholesalers' store brands or own label brands.

WASHINGTON — Making a direct appeal to teens, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association has created the website DXMstories.org that directly engages young adults around the dangers of dextromethorphan abuse with provocative video clips featuring peer anecdotes.

Zarbee’s has been expanding its pediatric cough-cold line featuring buckwheat honey with the launch of Zarbee’s Nighttime Cough and Sleep Drink, an over-the-counter nighttime cough remedy proven safe and effective for children 2 years of age and older.


WASHINGTON — Approximately 5.3% of high school seniors abused over-the-counter cough-cold medicines in the past month, according to the latest "Monitoring the Future" survey released Wednesday by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. That's down from 6.6% of high school seniors who claimed to have recently abused cough-cold medicines last year.

SALT LAKE CITY — Zarbee's on Wednesday announced the launch of Zarbee's Nighttime Cough and Sleep Drink, an over-the-counter nighttime cough remedy.

Zarbee's Nighttime Cough and Sleep Drink is made from antioxidant-rich buckwheat honey, which recent clinical studies have shown is more effective at relieving coughs associated with colds and upper respiratory illnesses than dextromethorphan or diphenhydramine, the company claimed.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California on Wednesday banned the sale of dextromethorphan to minors, becoming the first state to pass such legislation.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention last week announced that it is working with the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association to update quality standards for widely used medicines and ingredients. Updated test methodologies are crucial to help counter economically motivated adulteration — in which less expensive and potentially harmful ingredients are substituted for genuine medicines or their ingredients — and also to address the challenge of impurities that may go undetected with older, nonspecific assays and tests.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has taken action against makers of prescription drugs for cough-cold and allergies that don’t have regulatory approval, the agency said Wednesday.

The action is part of the agency’s Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which seeks to remove from the market drugs that have not received approval. In many cases, the drugs were marketed before the FDA adopted its current regulatory standards.