Westchester, N.Y., considering stricter limit on cough medicine sales

WESTCHESTER, N.Y. A new bill maybe passed in Westchester that would ban the selling of cough and cold products containing dextromethorphan to anyone under 18, according to The New York Times.

The county would follow Nassau and Suffolk who passed legislation last year banning the selling of the products to anyone under 18 and 19 respectively. Reports have shown a large increase in children taking the medications in excess to get the “high” euphoric effects that they would receive from drugs like marijuana.

If the law passes, Westchester supermarkets and drugstores that sell DXM products to minors would get a warning for the first violation and $150 fines for each subsequent offense.

Similar bans are under committee review in the United States Senate and the New York and New Jersey state legislatures. A Connecticut bill proposed in 2005 did not proceed to a vote.