In Japan, the number of teenagers suspected of ‘drug overdose’ increased by 47% in two years.
1 in 60 high school students “took cold medicine to feel better”
Health authorities “discussing ways to regulate generic drugs with ingredients of concern”
In Japan, the number of teenagers visiting the emergency room due to drug overdose is rapidly increasing every year.
According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 19th, Japanese health and fire authorities announced that the number of teenage patients among ‘patients suspected of drug overdose’ in 2022 was 1,494, an increase of 47% compared to 2020. It is reported that a total of 846 teenage patients were reported as of June this year.
The number of patients in their 20s increased by 21% from 2020 to 3,295 in 2022.
Additionally, the number of patients transported to the emergency room due to drug overdose last year totaled 10,682 across all age groups, an 11% increase from 2020.
The Japanese Metropolitan Police Agency reported that a total of 29 youths were detained as a result of a crackdown on delinquent youth in the ‘Toyoko’ area of Kabukicho, Shinjuku-gu, Tokyo from the 2nd to the 17th. It was revealed that many of them were in possession of over-the-counter medicines for the purpose of abusing them.
Authorities explained that they confirmed that delinquent youths known as the ‘Toyoko Kids’ mainly illegally traded cough syrup and other drugs.
Last March, a woman in her 20s who was taken to the emergency room at the Minato Red Cross Hospital in Yokohama City fell into a coma for three days due to drug abuse.
According to the media, a total of 1,430 empty pill bags were found in this woman’s home, of which 1,352 were cough medicine containing dextromethorphan (DXM).
When taken at recommended levels, DXM is effective in treating colds, but overuse can cause side effects, including brain damage, hallucinations, and irregular pulse.
A medical staff member who treated a 21-year-old man who died from drug use in Toyama Prefecture said, “Many people abuse drugs because regular drugs are easier to obtain than illegal drugs. We need to create a system and environment to prevent abuse.” The position was announced through the media.
As drug abuse by youth has emerged as a social problem, local media reported that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved a plan on the 18th to regulate the sale of over-the-counter medicines containing ingredients ‘at risk of misuse’.
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s research agency on approximately 45,000 high school students nationwide in 2021, one in 60 answered, “I have abused over-the-counter drugs for recreational purposes in the past year.”
The Asahi Shimbun expressed concern that “the abuse of general medicines by young people is a serious problem.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.