Five women have launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the problem of cough-medicine abuse, aided by a manufacturer's association.

The Five Moms: Stopping Cough Medicine Abuse Campaign utilizes a variety of online tools to reach parents, including a Five Moms website, blogs, messaging, and videos. The Internet is one way that adolescents spread the word about the potential for misuse of dextromethorphan-based over-the-counter medication, so the campaign is intended to prevent a countervailing viewpoint.

The year-old campaign, sponsored by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), is encouraging mothers to talk to their children about the dangers of abusing  cough medicines. "First, we had to raise awareness among parents that teens abusing cough medicine was a reality," said Linda A. Suydam, president of the CHPA. "Now, with our growing community of engaged parents, we are asking our Five Moms members to engage in an open communication with their teens to help prevent this type of substance abuse."

The five founding members of the group are Julie Bermant, a pediatric nurse practitioner from Massachusetts, Blaise Brooks, an accountant from California, Christy Crandell, a California mother of a former cough-medicine abuser, Becky Dyer, a D.A.R.E. officer and deputy sheriff from Kansas, and Hilda Morales, an educator from Texas.