Cough syrup - the legal youth drug
Lea* tried it for the first time at the age of 14. She went to the medicine cabinet in her parents' bathroom and swallowed cough syrup with the psychoactive ingredient dextromethorphan (DXM), not because she had a cold, but to try out what it felt like to be high. The amount taken was far in excess of the dosage recommended in the package leaflet.
The sixth form student describes her first trip: «I felt like I could fly. Gravity seemed to have been switched off. At the same time, I was totally confused and couldn't concentrate on anything. I heard and saw things that weren't there.»
These potentially dangerous cocktails are glamorised by American rappers in music videos.
Thilo Beck, Head of Psychiatry at the Centre for Addiction Medicine Arud
Although she felt nauseous during her trip, the teenager repeated the experiment again and again. At first every few weeks, later several times a week with increasing doses.
She bought the cough syrup over the counter from various Swiss pharmacies to avoid attracting attention. Today, the teenager is addicted to the cough syrup and wants to get off it because she keeps suffering from nightmares.
Addictive cough medicines are cheap and easily available
For some years now, pharmacists have been noticing that young people, particularly in urban areas, have been trying to get high with cough medicines containing dextromethorphan or codeine. Valeria Rauseo, deputy manager of the Olympia pharmacy on Stauffacher, explains: «On Fridays in particular, young people, but also adults, ask us for cough syrups or drops containing codeine to stock up for the weekend.»
Information about substances, risks, side effects
The pharmacist estimates that the youngest adolescents are 13 years old. At a price of 7.30 francs per bottle, the trip is affordable for most young people. The effects of codeine can range from calmness, light-heartedness, euphoria and excitement to an increase in self-confidence.
How dangerous is the cough syrup trip?
Some young people mix the cough drops with sweet drinks such as Sprite and other medicines. These mixtures are also known as Texas Tea, Sizzurp or Purple Drank. Thilo Beck, Head of Psychiatry at the Arud Centre for Addiction Medicine in Zurich, explains: «These potentially dangerous cocktails are glorified by American rappers in music videos.»
There is a risk of poisoning when combining alcohol and cough preparations!
The expert knows that young people who use such cough preparations at parties at the weekend are not usually addicted to them. However, Beck warns that the opiates codeine and dextromethorphan can be addictive if taken regularly and pleads for young people to be adequately informed about their effects and dangers.
He considers the interaction with other substances, such as alcohol, to be particularly problematic: «This combination increases the risk of intoxication.»
Some pharmacies only give the juices on prescription
Cornelia Reichert, senior physician at Tox Info Suisse, is convinced that young people underestimate the risks of medication. She explains: "Cough syrup is cheap and available over the counter in many places.
Depending on the dosage, codeine can cause a sharp decrease in respiratory rate and, in extreme cases, even lead to coma or death. Dextromethorphan can also lead to agitation, hallucinations and epileptic seizures."
Parents should clearly communicate their attitude towards drugs to their children.
The Olympia pharmacy has taken action and now only dispenses the cough syrup, which is available over the counter, on prescription if there is a suspicion of non-prescription use. Valeria Rauseo interjects: «However, some young people go so far as to forge prescriptions in order to obtain the syrup.»
Legal highs: Not harmless incense sticks at all
Tox Info Suisse regularly receives enquiries about new types of drugs with psychoactive effects. These so-called legal highs, designer drugs or research chemicals are mainly offered on the Internet under harmless-sounding names such as bath salts, spice, incense mixture or room air freshener - often with the label «not for human consumption».
Legal highs often contain substances from medical research, synthetically produced active ingredients that have a similar effect to cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines or LSD. The substances usually originate from China, are manufactured in Eastern Europe and sold relatively cheaply online in small, brightly coloured packets.
There is often no information on the ingredients or they do not correspond to the actual contents - anyone who orders them is buying a grab bag and playing Russian roulette. Cornelia Reichert considers these substances to be potentially very dangerous because there is a lack of experience with the hundreds of active ingredients: «It is therefore extremely difficult to accurately assess the risk of an overdose.»
The manufacturers of legal highs play cat and mouse with the law
Legal highs, which according to Thilo Beck are not very popular in Switzerland and tend to be tried by older teenagers and young adults, can initially cause feelings of happiness, but often also lead to severe psychoses such as hallucinations. The effects are unpredictable.
In some cases, groups that already include possible new substances are also subject to seizure," explains Danièle Bersier, media spokesperson at the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products Swissmedic. Many legal highs are therefore not legal and are confiscated by customs.
Youth counselling Streetwork
Those affected can become very aggressive depending on the substance, dose, accompanying circumstances and their own mental state. In the USA, several cases have been described in which young people who had presumably previously consumed legal highs ran amok, committed suicide or mutilated themselves. Legal highs are available in countless variations.
To ensure that the substances do not fall under the Narcotics Act, manufacturers play cat and mouse with the legislator and are constantly modifying the drugs. «To counter this, these new drugs can be brought under narcotics legislation in a timely manner in an accelerated procedure.»
Legal highs often contain substances from medical research.
Most young people who use psychoactive substances do so out of curiosity and do not go on to use them regularly. Monique Portner-Helfer from Addiction Switzerland says: «Parents should not dramatise a one-off trial use. It is important that they talk emphatically to the young people concerned about the risks and communicate their attitude clearly.»
Seriously ask: «Why are you taking drugs?»
For users, drug use is also associated with positive characteristics, says Lischer. Parents should therefore also enquire about these and take them seriously. It is also helpful for a conversation if parents are well informed about the effects, risks and side effects of the substances.
They should also tell their child that they are worried and that they want them to be well. Anja Lischer adds: «It's best if parents speak in clear «I» messages.» So «I'm worried about you» or «I see you trying drugs» instead of «Why are you taking that stuff?».
- Lay the foundations for a good relationship with your child as early as possible in childhood. A relationship characterised by respect and trust makes it easier to stay in contact even in difficult situations.
- Signal to your child that you are there. This gives children and young people support.
- Ask questions and show interest in what your child is doing in their free time. This is not about control.
- Create a relationship based on mutual trust and openness to the other person's point of view. This will create an atmosphere in which your child is more likely to tell you what they do in their free time.
- Insist if you are worried.
- If you feel that you can no longer get through to your son or daughter, keep trying to talk to them.
- If you get nowhere, contact a parenting and youth counselling centre.
- Allow your child to cultivate friendships and go out - create a clear framework for going out in the evening (when, how often and until what time is our son/daughter allowed to go out).
- When teenagers go out in the evening, you should always know where your child is going, with whom and how they are coming home.
- Discuss the consequences in advance if your child does not follow the rules.
- Discuss the use of psychoactive substances with your child.
Source and further information: www.suchtschweiz.ch/eltern
Parents need to take plenty of time for such conversations, listen actively and respond primarily to their child's feelings. Instead of expressing their own fears, parents are better off describing their child's behaviour without judging it (e.g. «I can tell you're angry»).
If young people use potentially harmful substances repeatedly or regularly, Monique Portner-Helfer recommends getting to the bottom of the circumstances that contributed to this (e.g. peer pressure): What is behind the consumption? What can be done about it?
If those affected find it difficult to stop using, or if young people are not prepared to change, it is important to consult specialists. Addiction and youth counselling centres can help parents and young people in such situations.
Parents should be a role model
Around 160,000 people in Switzerland are addicted to sleeping pills and tranquillisers and over 60,000 take strong painkillers every day or almost every day. The risk of addiction is particularly high with drugs based on benzodiazepines or benzodiazepine-like substances and opiates. Adolescents are rarely affected by drug addiction.
Around 0.1 per cent of adolescents regularly use sleeping pills and tranquillisers. Nevertheless, parents need to be aware that their handling of medication has a formative effect on their child. If children often observe their parents swallowing medication or are given medication immediately for minor ailments, this increases the risk that they will turn to medication quickly and frequently as adults.
* Name changed by the editors
The most important information
- Opiates such as dextromethorphan or codeine, which are contained in cough medicines, have an intoxicating effect in high doses, can cause various moods and are addictive. In the form of cough drops, a prescription-free and affordable remedy that is frequently bought in pharmacies, especially at the weekend.
- Read the article to find out why the combination with alcohol is so dangerous and what consequences can occur after consumption.
- Not only cough syrup, but also other supposedly harmless substances are abused by young adults to get high. Find out what these are in the article.
- How can parents talk to their children about questionable consumption and signal that they are offering help and safety? In any case, it is important to ensure that the young person is not blamed and that the parents are interested in finding out the reasons for the consumption. You can find more expert tips in the full text.
