Texas Minors Will No Longer Be Allowed to Buy Over the Counter Cough Medicine

The new law will be going into effect this September.

House Bill 1518 recently passed in Texas and Governor Greg Abbott officially signed the bill. This bill will prevent anyone under the age of eighteen from purchasing over the counter cough medicine. Such as Nyquil or Robitusson. If the cough medicine contains dextromethorphan, minors cannot purchase it. Dextromethorphan is in over 100 different cough medicines.

Dextromethorphan has the ability to get you high and many teens are mixing cough medicine with alcohol to get this effect. Three percent of teens in high school said they have tried it out before graduating. “We know that young people will find anything that will alter their states, and particularly substances that are legal, and when used inappropriately, they get high,” author of the bill Garnet Coleman said. “The first thing we need to do is crack down on access to those types of legal over-the-counter drugs.”

Texas will be joining eighteen other states with similar laws already on the books. Stores caught violating the new law will first receive a warning, then a $150 fine for a second violation and $250 fines for every violation after that, according to the bill. Teens will still be allowed to buy cough medicine, as long as it doesn't contain dextromethorphan. Cough medicines are available without that particular ingredient, such as cough drops.