Cough drops, as the name suggests, are an antitussive medicine. However, once this drug is taken in large doses, it will cause hallucinations and the user will become addicted. Addicts have given cough drops a new name - "shaking water", which means that after taking it, they will shake their heads to the music.

The main ingredients of cough drops are codeine phosphate, ephedrine hydrochloride, etc. Codeine phosphate is a central antitussive drug. It is generally used for dry cough without phlegm. It has strong antitussive and analgesic functions. Its intensity is one-fourth that of morphine. It can excite the respiratory central nervous system. , taking a large amount will produce pleasure and hallucinations, dizziness, tachycardia and other adverse reactions, and long-term consumption will lead to addiction. Taking more than 800 mg of codeine at one time is likely to cause death. Ephedrine hydrochloride has antiasthmatic, stimulant and anesthetic effects, but it is a psychotropic drug and is the prerequisite for making methamphetamine and ecstasy. It can also become addictive if taken in large amounts for a long time.

"In clinical medicine, cough drops are good medicines with very obvious clinical therapeutic effects. They are generally not addictive at normal doses and are not soft drugs. However, if used in large amounts for a long time, they can become addictive. " Zhang Yatong, a clinical pharmacist at the Department of Pharmacy, Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health, explained that the main reason for addiction is that codeine phosphate or poppy shell components contained in cough drops can cause central nervous system excitement. "In addition, in order to pursue the so-called pleasure, some teenagers not only abuse cough drops, but also often mix cough drops with cola, tramadol, dextromethorphan, motion sickness tablets, diazepam, etc., thus forming 'polydrug abuse'," Vicious cycle."