Dextromethorphan (DXM), a key ingredient in cough medication, is safe if taken in the correct doses, said an official with the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) on Tuesday.
  
This follows the recent deaths of five American teenagers reportedly caused by the ingestion of DXM. The United States Food and Drug Administration said that their deaths "might be associated with the consumption of powdered DXM sold in capsules." DXM is a synthetic ingredient found in many over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold remedies.
  
The SFDA official said that DXM abuse could cause death as well as brain damage, loss of consciousness and irregular heartbeats.
  
Wang Gongli, a medicine expert with SFDA's Medicine Evaluation Center, said the five teenagers died because they took large doses of DXM in capsule form.
  
"Cold and cough suppressant medicines containing DXM, when formulated properly and used in small amounts, pose no harm to the human body," said Wang.
  
According to Chinese official standards, an adult can take 15 to 30 mg DXM at a time, three to four times a day.
   
So far, SFDA has not received any reports of negative effects from DXM use.
  
Despite the official stance that the drug is safe when ingested in the recommended dosage, reports about DXM's possible harmful effects, however, have already caused trouble for many Chinese cold and cough relief drug producers.
  
Topsun, which produces one of China's best-known cold relief drug White & Black, issued a statement on Tuesday saying their drug contains 15 mg of DXM per capsule and clinical tests have shown that the drug has no harmful effects. Nevertheless, company executives fear that the reports might affect their business.
  
The SFDA called on the public to read the instruction leaflets carefully and strictly follow the recommended dosage.
  
"Any medicine is potentially harmful if taken improperly for a long time and in large doses," a SFDA official said.
  
(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2005)