Ipecac misuse in clinical and non‐clinical samples

To look at the occurrence of ipecac misuse in two high‐risk populations, we distributed a structured self‐report questionnaire regarding eating attitudes and behaviors to a non‐clinical sample of 5,537 young women in a national collegiate social organization and to a clinical sample of 299 consecutive outpatients referred to our Eating Disorders Clinic. The lifetime prevalence of ipecac use in the college population was 2.5% compared to 10% in the outpatient sample. The prevalence rates in both populations suggest that further restriction of syrup of ipecac by warnings of toxicity on labels, package inserts, and pharmacist dispensation over‐the‐counter should be considered.