BackSociety » Health » Trend: HCMC Students Getting High on Cough Medicine

Trend: HCMC Students Getting High on Cough Medicine

Drugs may be incredibly illegal in Vietnam, but according to a recent report, like their western counterparts, some teenagers have discovered the magical powers of cough medicine. The difference is, instead of doing it for the high, Vietnamese students are using to get out of their academic responsibilities.

Earlier this week at Lu Gia Junior Secondary School in District 11, school supervisors reported that a group of 8th graders were slurring the speech. When checking their bags, the supervisors uncovered a stash of Recotus cough medicine:

"Some of them showed abnormal signs. They could not speak clearly like they were drunken, but they did not have smell of alcohol,” said one supervisor.

According to a representative of the school, when parents were summoned, they told officials that they were aware of the issue:

"…Recently, some parents informed us that their children were still enticed by classmates to take this medicine in order to make their teachers think that they are sick, so that they would not have to recite their lessons."

At Tang Bat Ho Junior Secondary School in District 4, peer pressure is playing a role in the drug use – “a number of parents said that someone came to the school to force their children to use the medicine; if they refused to do this, they would be beaten.”

For many, taking the medicine has landed them in the hospital. Last year 4 students at a secondary school in District 2 were hospitalized when they experienced hallucinations and other reactions such as palpitations and trembling.

Ho Chi Minh City Health Department official, Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh, said his department has been working to restrict the sales of these medicines.

I guess we shouldn’t tell them about the myriad of opioids freely available in Saigon pharmacies…

[Vietnam Net // Photo via ep_jhu]


Related Articles:

- Over 500 Drug Addicts Escaped Rehab Center in Dong Nai

- Ben Tre Business Gives Former Former Convicts, Addicts New Lease on Life

- Vietnam Planning to Drop Death Penalty for Drug Crimes, Robbery


Related Articles

in Health

300 Years to Clean up 800,000 Tons of Unexploded Ordinance in Vietnam: Official

At a conference on unexploded ordnance in Vietnam, an official announced that it may take up to 300 years to clear the country of the deadly war remnants that are still inflicting casualties to this d...

in Health

40% Of Pregnancies In Vietnam End In Abortion: Report

Vietnam’s defunct but lingering family planning policies, poor sex education programs and easy access to clinics has resulted in one of the highest abortion rates in the world, according to a recent r...

in Health

4K Turkey Dash For the Orphans @ The Crescent

On November 17, come down to the Crescent to join Transcend People’s 4k Turkey Dash for the Orphans and Operation Smile in Vietnam.

in Health

66% of Covid-19 Cases in Hanoi Are Asymptomatic, Health Officials Say

Hanoi officials have warned of increased risk of Covid-19 outbreaks, as it was reported that 66.6% of confirmed cases in the capital were found to be asymptomatic.

in Health

7 Reasons Why Vietnamese Food is Good for You

While you may have to watch out where you’re buying your produce in Vietnam, the cuisine itself is about as healthy you can get. The Huffington Post recently talked to the Vietnamese owners of Pho, a ...

in Health

After 5 Years, Boy Finally Has Battery Removed from Nose

Doctors in central Vietnam treated a 10-year-old boy in Tam Tri Da Nang General Hospital earlier this week for emitting “unpleasant odors” from his nose, according to Tuoi Tre.

Partner Content