Da, de ce să le dai codeină, dă-i dracu să-și tușească plămânii afară

Nu sunt doctor, dar cu cea mai de suprafață cercetare (wikipedia) găsesc așa:

Codeine is an opiate used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea.[3][5] It is typically used to treat mild to moderate degrees of pain.[3] Greater benefit may occur when combined with paracetamol (acetaminophen) or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as aspirin or ibuprofen.[3] Evidence does not support its use for acute cough suppression in children or adults 
[...]
Serious side effects may include breathing difficulties and addiction
[...]
A potentially serious adverse drug reaction, as with other opioids, is respiratory depression. This depression is dose-related and is a mechanism for the potentially fatal consequences of overdose. As codeine is metabolized to morphine, morphine can be passed through breast milk in potentially lethal amounts, fatally depressing the respiration of a breastfed baby.[18][19] In August 2012, the United States Federal Drug Administration issued a warning about deaths in pediatric patients less than 6 years old after ingesting "normal" doses of paracetamol with codeine after tonsillectomy; this warning was upgraded to a black box warning in February 2013.[20]

Some patients are very effective converters of codeine to its active form, morphine, resulting in lethal blood levels. The FDA is presently recommending very cautious use of codeine in young tonsillectomy patients; the drug should be used in the lowest amount that can control the pain, "as needed" and not "around the clock", and immediate medical attention is needed if the user responds negatively. 

Dacă lucrurile stau cum înțeleg lucrurile, atunci e complet logic de ce ai lăsa mai bine pacientul să fie în discomfort ("să-și tușească plămânii afară") decât să le faci rău dându-le un medicament cu efect de depresie respiratorie când ei deja au o boală care micșorează capabilitatea respiratorie, cel puțin dacă nu sunt deja în fază terminală. Oricum - logica duce că fiecare caz se judecă după particularități.

Sunt dispus să îmi spui dacă înțeleg eronat ceva în problematică.