Avoid cough-cold products with opioids for kids and teens, Health Canada advises
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/02/2019 (2732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO – Health Canada says children and adolescents under age 18 should not use cough and cold products that contain opioids.
A safety review by the federal department found there is limited evidence to support the effectiveness of the potent narcotics in cough and cold products in children and teens.
The review found no strong evidence linking such products with opioid-use disorders in young Canadians, but it did determine their early use may be a factor in problematic substance use later in life.
Three prescription opioids are authorized to treat cough symptoms in Canada: codeine, hydrocodone and normethadone. Codeine is also available without a prescription in low-dose formulations to treat coughs and colds.
Health Canada advises parents to ask their health-care practitioner about alternatives to cough and cold products containing opioids for children and adolescents.
The use of these opioid-containing products has been declining among patients under age 18 in the last five years, with prescriptions for that age group now making up just four per cent of the total dispensed to Canadians.
