Latest Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Yields 50% More Pills Than Previous Event
Fifty percent more pills were collected during the latest
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, compared with the previous
event in 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced.
The agency said 742,497 pounds of prescription medications were
collected from almost 6,000 sites around the country on April 27, UPI
reports. More than 2.8 million pounds of prescription medications have
been removed from circulation during the six national take-back days the
DEA has sponsored.
The events are designed to provide a safe, convenient and responsible
way for people to dispose of their unwanted or expired medications,
while educating the public about the potential for abuse of prescription
drugs.
According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, twice as many
Americans regularly abused prescription drugs than the number of those
who regularly used cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants
combined, the DEA noted in a news release.
More than 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers say
they obtained them through friends or relatives, including the family
medicine cabinet.
No comments:
Post a Comment