Adding 20% Tax Would Curb Abuse Of OTC Drugs For Trimming Pounds, Research Suggests

National Eating Disorders Association-funded study projects tax would reduce purchases 10.3% for households with female children and 5.2% for all families. “Abuse of widely available, over-the-counter drugs and supplements such as diet pills, laxatives and diuretics by adolescents for weight control is well documented, yet manufacturers and retailers can sell them to minors without restriction,” says study author Bryn Austin of Harvard Medical School.