Usage of Over the Counter (OTC) Drugs by Youth and Young Adults

The nonmedical use of cough/cold OTC medications is increasingly being used by adolescents and young adults to get high.

National studies have found that:

• Among persons aged 12 to 25 who had misused an OTC cough and cold medication in the past year, 30.5% misused a NyQuil® product, 18.1% misused a Coricidin® product, and 17.8% misused a Robitussin® product.²¹
• The misuse of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines has been declining gradually in 8th and 12th grades since 2006 (when it was first measured), while holding steady in 10th grade.²²
• Young adults aged 18 to 25 were more likely than youth aged 12 to 17 to have used OTC cough and cold medications nonmedically in their lifetime (6.5% vs. 3.7%) but were less likely to do so in the past year (1.6% vs. 1.9%).
• Whites aged 12 to 25 (2.1%) were more likely than Hispanics (1.4%) and blacks (0.6%) to have used an over-the-counter cough and cold medication in the past year to get high.²³
• There are high levels of polydrug use among the 12 - 25 age population who reported use of cough/cold OTC remedies. Specifically 81.9 percent of individuals aged 12 - 25 who had ever misused OTC cough/cold medication were also lifetime users of marijuana.²⁴
• Teens are becoming more aware of the risks involved in abusing over-the-counter medicine. Teens agree that taking cough medicine to get high is risky (45% in 2007 and 48% in 2008).²⁵

Go to the NSDUH Report on the Misuse of OTC Cough and Cold Medications among Persons Aged 12 to 25 for more information.