Why did FDA hold a recent meeting on cough medicines containing dextromethorphan? What was the outcome of the meeting?
While dextromethorphan-containing medicines provide millions of consumers with safe and effective relief from cough, a small percentage (5%) of teens report abusing cough medicine to get high. On September 14, FDA’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee held a meeting to discuss both the public health benefit as well as the possible ways to address dextromethorphan abuse. This meeting was called because of a request from the Drug Enforcement Administration for a recommendation on whether or not to schedule OTC cough and cold medicines containing dextromethorphan. At the conclusion of the meeting, the committee recommended not to schedule over-the-counter (OTC) medicines containing dextromethorphan. CHPA participated in the meeting to discuss the association’s perspective on effective ways to prevent cough medicine abuse while allowing for continued availability of these medicines to the nearly 40 million American families who rely on them each year. While CHPA supports the
