Stop & Shop supermarkets this weekend joins a growing list of retailers that no longer sell over-the-counter cough medicine, cold remedies or other products containing dextromethorphan to people under the age of 18, because of concerns that teenagers are abusing the product.

The Quincy, Mass.-based chain said, beginning Sunday, it will require customers to show identification that proves they are at least 18 years old to purchase products containing the ingredient.

The chain, a division of Royal Ahold in the Netherlands, controls about half of Rhode Island’s grocery business. The Dutch company sells more than 150 products that list dextromethorphan as an ingredient in its U.S. stores.

Stop & Shop follows CVS, Costco, Kmart, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart, in voluntarily restricting sales of such medicines, according to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned about dextromethorphan’s abuse two years ago, after the deaths of five teenagers.

“There’s a growing trend among many young people towards abusing these products,” said John Fegan, senior vice president of pharmacy operations at Stop & Shop.

Last month, a Massachusetts couple pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the overdosing death of their 4-year-old daughter. An autopsy found the cause of death was a lethal combination of several prescription drugs, including a fatal dose of Clonidine, which the girl had been taking for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the district attorney’s office said.

The coroner’s report also found valproic acid, also known as Depakote; dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant in over-the-counter medicines; and the antihistamine chlorpheniramine in her system.

In 2004, four Westerly middle-school students were suspended after they were found abusing cold medicine.

Checkout scanners in Stop & Shop’s 385 stores in the Northeast will be programmed to alert cashiers when a customer tries to buy an age-restricted product, the company said.

pgrimald@projo.com