I have heard that many manufacturers add some ingredient(s) to their medications that will cause extreme nausea and or diarrhea if to large a dose is taken. Is this true, or is it just an urban legend?
this may not count, but some finger nail polish removers have a bittering agent to make it unappealing to young children.
Hmmm, let me see if I can recall this from my pharmacology class. For some narcotics there is an antidote (like Narcan) mixed in that has 0% bioavailability orally (i.e. it isn’t absorbed throught the GI tract). This is so that if you take your medication orally as prescribed you will get adequate pain relief, but if you decide you want to melt it down and shoot it up it won’t have an effect because you are getting the Narcan at the same time.
Natural gas has a built in odor, but that’s for non suicidal people. Drug companies add aspirin & Tylenol to narcotics, like Percodan & Percocet, for example. This is to prevent IV drug use-the aspirin & Tylenol is put in because they cause pain & irritation of the vein. Doubt a suicidal person would care. Also, a bottle (100)of Percodan or Percocet would kill anyone, but the aspirin & Tylenol may cause vomiting. In the days of Seconals& Nembutals et al , # 10 could kill, & nothing was done to dissuade ingestion,as you suggest.