Talk:Benzonatate

Non-narcotic?
"Narcotic" means "sleep inducing". Since benzonatate causes drowsiness, how is it non-narcotic? The narcotic article says that it's not a useful term in pharmacology anymore. What is meant by "non-narcotic" in this context, and is there a better way to say it?

Edit: It looks like what is meant here is "non-opioid", not "non-narcotic". It's mentioned in the narcotic article that the term is associated with opioids in the US. Since Wikipedia is an international resource and "non-narcotic" is unclear, I'm changing the term to "non-opioid". Ketsuekigata (talk) 21:21, 6 February 2011 (UTC)


 * The term "narcotic" in the medical world can be interchangeable with "opioid". The DEA website says that "narcotic" comes from Greek for "stupor" and refers to substances that dulled the sense and relieved pain. Any sedative could fit that definition. When discussing benzonatate, people often use the term "non-narcotic antitussive" because it is not an opioid like dextromethorphan or codeine. However, it is confusing when referring benzonatate as the only "non-narcotic antitussive" because narcotic in the Greek sense could refer to diphenhydramine (or Benadryl) which can be used for cough and is significantly sedating. Given all of this, it seems the best term for benzonatate would be "non-opioid antitussive" to avoid this confusion. Thank you. DocWock (talk) 02:29, 21 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for pointing this out. :)
 * Narcotic is mostly a legal term created by the war on drugs. It is not a term used much in medicine because it is imprecise. The DEA frequently gets facts wrong about drugs in general. For example, the DEA claimed you can touch fentanyl and die.  This has been debunked by many toxicologists.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7492952/
 * https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34817717/


 * The DEA is a bad source of info about drugs because they frequently lie and or exaggerate the risks of drugs. 2600:1009:B15E:8559:0:51:BCB6:3B01 (talk) 00:04, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
 * To add to this, its true that narcotic has been used before the war on drugs but its mostly an imprecise term that is not used much in medicine. It really came into widespread use after the drug war started 2600:1009:B15E:8559:0:51:BCB6:3B01 (talk) 00:08, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

not as effective or safe as codeine
Under section 'Dosage and administration' we have this:

Because it is not as effective or safe as codeine, it is typically recommended only in patients who are allergic to codeine.[medical citation needed]

"Society and culture"
The following sentence in Society and culture needs edited, as dextromethorphan is opiod-based not opiate based also it isn't sold by prescription. You can buy dextromethorphan over the counter at virtually any drug store.

"There are a variety of prescription opiate-based cough relievers, such as dextromethorphan and codeine, but have unwanted side effects and potential of abuse and diversion." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.146.51.11 (talk) 02:05, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

I am new to Wikipedia and not sure if the reference within the below article could be used as evidence or citation:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3931656/

"Benzonatate (Tessalon Perles; Pfizer, New York, NY, USA) is a non-narcotic butylamine chemically related to ester anesthetics. It is thought to work by decreasing the sensitivity of stretch receptors in the lower airways and lung, making the cough reflex less active. Although benzonatate is a non-opioid and is not prone to abuse, it has a poor safety profile. There have been numerous reports of overdose resulting in neurotoxicity (seizures), cardiotoxicity (arrhythmias), and death, especially in children.54,55 A search of the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) database through May 19, 2010 identified 31 cases of overdose associated with benzonatate (median age 18 years, range 1–66 years). Common adverse events reported in the overdose cases included cardiac arrest, coma, and convulsion. Of the 31 overdose cases reported in AERS, seven cases involved accidental ingestions, all in children under the age of 10 years. Five of the seven accidental ingestions resulted in death in children aged 2 years and younger.56 Therefore, physicians should not routinely recommend benzonatate as an alternative antitussive, especially in children under the age of 10."

Stalelight (talk) 16:06, 5 January 2017 (UTC)


 * I don't believe the article mentions codeine anymore but just to address this issue, I agree that the article you cited states that benzonatate has serious adverse effects. It does not explicitly compare benzonatate to codeine in any way, shape, or form and it would be presumptive to compare their efficacies or safety profiles without the proper systematic review of head to head trials. Thank you. DocWock (talk) 02:33, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

WikiProject Medicine April 2020
Hello, I am DocWalk, a rising PGY1 in a US residency, and I would like to work on this page for Wikiproject medicine. I believe that the core content of the page is structurally sound but there are areas that need expansion, clarification, and citations. I will be using secondary and tertiary sources as well as the FDA information within package insert and drugs.com (which references the FDA label). I will be working on the following sections: Lead Medical uses Contraindications Adverse Effects Pharmacology Dosage and administration Society and culture Research I am open to comments and suggestions on this talk page or my user talk page. Please feel free to make changes to my edits. Thank you. DocWock (talk) 02:21, 21 April 2020 (UTC)
 * The section uses references and statements that are not supported elsewhere in the article e.g. hiccups, pediatric contraindication, and marketing
 * I believe the brand name is "tessalon perles" and not simply "tessalon",minor issue so will leave and discuss further
 * update medical uses based on FDA label and secondary/tertiary sources, attempt to differentiate its use in chronic vs acute cough if possible
 * create section, use FDA label, although its only contraindication is a previous hypersensitivity reaction to the medication
 * expand section as needed with new developments e.g. mood changes
 * create special population section for pediatric, pregnancy, and breastfeeding
 * create section, move mechanism of action into this
 * move chemical structure into this
 * current research does not define pharmacokinetics and metabolism it seems
 * WikiPharmacy manual of style explicitly states "Detailed dosage information is not recommended as it may be construed as medical advice and be easily subject to vandalism or uninformed good-faith edits"
 * clarify routes of administration in infobox that the medication is a softgel capsule
 * section should be removed from article
 * create section based on marketing and popularity of use, cited within secondary and tertiary sources
 * create section
 * FDA label about carcinogenic/mutagenesis/inferility

Proposition needs support
The author states that benzonatate “is not available in many countries.” (Citing footnote [6], Walsh, T. Declan; Caraceni, Augusto T.; Fainsinger, Robin; Foley, Kathleen M.; Glare, Paul; Goh, Cynthia; Lloyd-Williams, Mari; Olarte, Juan Nunez; Radbruch, Lukas (2008). Palliative Medicine E-Book).

That source, however merely states that “[a]vailability worldwide is limited.” It does not follow that because worldwide availability is limited, benzonatate, therefore, is “not available in many countries.”  Further, it is notable that the cited source fails to cite supporting authority for its proposition regarding limited “worldwide” availability. Therefore, this extrapolation is unsupported by authority Hendricks91022 (talk) 05:20, 10 December 2022 (UTC)


 * This appears to be fixed in the current page with the correct quotation. Paulehoffman (talk) 03:07, 10 February 2023 (UTC)

Side effects
How much more does it intensify use of weed and alcohol 47.25.160.9 (talk) 01:55, 11 December 2022 (UTC)


 * This can't be answered without quoting research. I'd be kinda surprised if there was such research from any reputable source. Paulehoffman (talk) 03:08, 10 February 2023 (UTC)
 * There is very little good information on how cannabis, THC, or CBD interact with any other drugs, medical or recreational, because there have been tight restrictions on medical or scientific research into cannabis or its derivatives.
 * As the article notes, most of the research into benzonatate is decades-old, because there's little incentive to do research into a drug whose patent expired ages ago. There are ethical problems with any study comparing benzonatate+alcohol with giving people only the benzonatate or only the alcohol, because alcohol isn't useful for treating coughs, and it's well known that alcohol can be harmful. Also, good luck doing a blinded study. Vicki Rosenzweig (talk) 23:39, 24 January 2024 (UTC)