Georgia and New York join the list of states considering restrictions on sales of OTC dextromethorphan-containing products to minors.

Legislation introduced in Georgia on March 27 (H.B. 739) proposes banning sales of DXM products to anyone younger than 18. The bill also would require retail outlets to alert customers to the age restriction.

Several other states including Maryland, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island have also introduced DXM-restricting legislation during their current sessions (¹ Also see "Will Oklahoma Dextromethorphan Age Restriction Bill Lead The Way?" - Pink Sheet, 12 March, 2007., p. 3).

Meanwhile, a New York state lawmaker proposes a different strategy to curb abuse of the cough medicine ingredient - limit minors' purchases of DXM products to one bottle per transaction.

The bill (S. 3444) introduced March 7 by state Sen. Dean Skelos would allow minors to purchase DXM for legitimate purposes while also helping limit abuse of the ingredient, according to a spokesman for the Long Island Republican.

"You certainly could have emancipated minors; you could have a situation where a parent was ill and asked a high school-age child to go to the store and pick them up some cough medication; or you could have college students," the representative explained.

However, the sales limit for minors would not prevent single-bottle purchases at multiple stores.

Similar issues arose in Congress during discussion of the federal Combat Meth Act to limit pseudoephedrine abuse and were addressed with requirements for retailers to keep log books with information on all purchases (² Also see "Pseudoephedrine Will Be Behind The Counter Across The Country By October" - Pink Sheet, 6 March, 2006., p. 5).

The N.Y. bill, however, would leave tracking DXM sales to each retailer. "Unlike regulation of pseudoephedrine ... this is really a store-by-store effort," the Skelos staffer said.

"There are ways around every law, but if you can throw up barriers and obstruct misuse, certainly, we'll all end up ahead in the future," he added.

- Jessica Lake (j.lake@elsevier.com)

As Dextromethorphan Age Restriction Bills Proliferate, NY Bill Tightens Limit

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