{"id":91332,"date":"2025-05-11T00:05:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T00:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/91332\/"},"modified":"2025-05-11T00:05:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T00:05:13","slug":"quebec-coroner-calls-for-tougher-controls-over-diphenhydramine-sales-after-2023-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/91332\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec coroner calls for tougher controls over diphenhydramine sales after 2023 death"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Quebec<\/a> coroner<\/a> is recommending that diphenhydramine<\/a> \u2014 an antihistamine and sedative sometimes used to sleep better \u2014 should be better managed in pharmacies after the overdose<\/a> death of an 18-year-old man south of Montreal in December 2023.<\/p>\n

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The young man, whose identity is not revealed in the report made public, died of acute diphenhydramine poisoning at his home in St-Mathias-sur-Richelieu.<\/p>\n

On the morning of Dec. 11, 2023, the man was found by his mother in his bed, unconscious and laying on his back. Toxicological analysis found the man had a lethal level of diphenhydramine in his blood.<\/p>\n

The drug is the sedating ingredient in some over-the-counter antihistamines including the brand Benadryl, among others.<\/p>\n

The coroner found the circumstances surrounding the death raise questions about the uncontrolled availability of a potentially lethal over-the-counter substance. He noted there is consensus about the risks of poisoning among scientific bodies, but it\u2019s not stored behind the counter.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI cannot understand why the sale of diphenhydramine \u2026 is not better controlled,\u201d coroner Vincent Denault wrote. \u201cI can\u2019t understand why diphenhydramine is available over the counter, especially since Gravol, which also contains diphenhydramine, isn\u2019t available.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In a report dated from late April but released this week, the coroner wrote the man\u2019s death is attributed to the acute toxicity of diphenhydramine, a central nervous system depressant which if consumed in sufficient quantities causes fatal respiratory depression and irregular heartbeat, which can lead to fatal cardiac arrhythmias.<\/p>\n

The coroner noted there were previously used empty jars and blister packs of diphenhydramine tablets in the man\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWas he taking them to sleep better? Could he have taken pills in the same way, but in larger quantities, during the night of December 10-11, 2023?\u201d the coroner asked.<\/p>\n

Denault noted it wasn\u2019t the first time deaths have occurred due to the drug. The coroner has already weighed in on three previous Quebec investigations.<\/p>\n

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