WASHINGTON – In an effort to head off sales restrictions of widely used cough medicines, the over-the-counter drug industry has launched a campaign to raise awareness about the medicine’s abuse, The Hill reports.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), which represents pharmaceutical and consumer-products companies, debuted its “Five Moms” Web site in May, another component of its campaign. The Web site showcases accounts from mothers about how dangerous it can be to use cough medicines to get drunk.

The over-the-counter drug industry and the retail pharmacy industry is attempting to lower the number of children who drink large quantities of cough medicines to get high, the newspaper reports. While many cough medications have little alcohol, their most common active ingredient, dextromethorphan, also can give kids a high.

More than 100 over-the-counter medicines have dextromethorphan, which acts as a cough suppressant. The CHPA endorses a policy of selling medicines with dextromethorphan to adults only. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) is considering age restrictions, NACDS spokeswoman Julia Belcher told the newspaper.

Two years ago, Congress passed legislation limiting the availability of nonprescription decongestants that have pseudoephedrine because of reports that the drug was used to make methamphetamine. The drug-makers and retailers are trying to head off additional laws on the sale of cough medicine with these initiatives.

“Recent research has shown sort of a trend for teens looking to the medicine cabinet to get high,” said Virginia Cox, a CHPA spokeswoman.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) is sponsoring the only bill before Congress that would ban bulk sales of the raw ingredient, dextromethorphan, except to drug manufacturers. However, NACDS thinks Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) will introduce a dextromethorphan bill that targets retail sales.