JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Public concern about over-the-counter (OTC) drug abuse is growing rapidly across countries. The OTC drug abuse has serious effects on the mind and body, such as poisoning symptoms, and often requires specialized treatments. On the other hand, there is concern about potential OTC drug abusers whose symptoms are not serious enough to consult medical institutions or drug addiction rehabilitation centers and yet who are at high risk of becoming drug-dependent in the future.

Objective:

Consumer-generated media (CGM), which allow users to disseminate information, are being used by people who abuse (and those who are trying to abuse) OTC drugs to obtain information about the OTC drug abuse. The purpose of this study is to analyze the content of CGM in order to explore the questions of potential OTC drug abusers.

Methods:

The subject of research was “Yahoo! Chiebukuro”, the largest Q&A site in Japan. A search was performed using the names of drugs commonly used in the OTC drug abuse and the keywords “overdose”/ “OD”, and the number of questions posted on the content of OTC drug abuse was counted. Furthermore, a theme analysis was conducted by extracting text data on the most abused antitussive and expectorant drug, “BRON®”.

Results:

The number of questions about the content of overdose medications containing the keyword “BRON” has increased sharply as compared to other product names. In addition, 467 items of question data that met the eligibility criteria were obtained from 528 items of text data on “BRON®”, and 26 codes, 6 categories and 3 themes were generated from the 578 questions contained in these items. Questions were asked about the effects they would gain from abusing OTC drugs and the information they needed to obtain the effects they sought, as well as about the effects of abuse on their bodies and the concerns about the effects on their relationships. Moreover, there were questions on how to stop abusing and what is needed when seeking help from a health care provider if they become dependent. It has become clear that OTC drug abusers have difficulty in consulting face-to-face with others and CGM are used as a means to obtain necessary information anonymously.

Conclusions:

On CGM, people who abused (or tried to abuse) OTC drugs were asking questions about their abuse expectations and anxieties. Also, when they became dependent, they sought advice to quit their abuse. CGM were used to exchange information about OTC drug abuse, and many questions on anxieties and hesitations were posted. The study suggests that it is necessary to produce and disseminate information on the OTC drug abuse, taking into account the situation of those who are (or are willing to be) OTC drug abusers. Support by pharmacies/drugstores would also be essential.