Cough syrup the new menace

PHUKET TOWN: Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyurapan chaired a crisis meeting in Phuket today to plan action to stem the rising misuse of cough syrup among Thailand’s young people. Among the 120 provincial officers who met at Royal Phuket City Hotel were Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, Public Health officers from the 14 southern provinces and others from as far as Chiang Mai and Chon Buri. The gathering heard that the misuse of cough syrup containing codeine had leapt, with seven times the amount of cough syrup now coming into the country, legally and illegally, compared to 1999. “The cabinet passed a ministerial regulation on January 14 that cough syrup containing codeine can be sold only in hospitals, and it will be effective 90 days after announcement in the Government Gazette,” K. Sudarat said. People who are caught with cough syrup containing codeine must have a prescription or face penalties as high as two years in jail and/or a 200,000 baht fine.