BE MINDFUL, THE MISUSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IS NOT THE CURE FOR WHAT AILS YOU

Recent nationwide publicity about arrests and overdose deaths of people
misusing painkillers and other prescription drugs highlights the increasing
abuse of these drugs.

Although there is no doubt that prescription drugs improve the lives of
millions of Americans, these drugs can also be dangerous and addicting. For
example, opiates -- sometimes referred to as narcotics, including morphine,
codeine, oxycodone (OxyContin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) -- ease the pain
of millions of patients. Others benefit from central nervous system
depressants -- or sedatives -- including barbiturates used to treat
anxiety, tension, and sleep disorders, and including benzodiazepines used
to treat anxiety, acute stress, panic attacks, and sleep problems.
Stimulants are prescribed for narcolepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), depression, and obesity because these drugs increase
alertness, attention, and energy while increasing blood pressure, heart
rate, and respiration.

However, many people are misusing medications and they are at great risk.
The latest figures suggest that in 1999 more than four million Americans
over the age of 12 -- almost 2 percent of the population aged 12 and older
- -- used opiates, sedatives, and stimulants for non-medical reasons. In
addition, the 1999 Drug Abuse Warning Network, which collects data on
drug-related episodes in hospital emergency departments, reported that
mentions of hydrocodone as a cause for visiting an emergency room increased
by 37 percent among all age groups from 1997 to 1999.

It is widely known by health care providers that abuse of prescription
drugs can lead to dependence and possibly to addiction; however, according
to a recent national survey of primary care physicians and patients, over
46 percent of the physicians reported that it was difficult to discuss
prescription drug abuse with their patients.

To bring renewed attention to this serious public health problem, the
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National
Institutes of Health, and several organizations that represent the
pharmaceutical industry, pharmacists, family physicians, drug stores, as
well as AARP and the National Council on Patient Information and Education,
have launched a public education initiative to inform the public,
physicians, pharmacists, and others about prescriptions drugs and their
misuse, abuse and addiction. As part of this effort, NIDA and its partners
will distribute an easy-to-read report about prescription drug abuse and
addiction as well as other materials that highlight the health consequences
of prescription drug misuse and abuse.

Reports of increasing misuse of prescription drugs in some segments of the
population of older adults, adolescents, and women are particularly
worrisome because of their numbers and because those numbers appear to be
increasing rapidly.

For example, research suggests that more than 17 percent of adults over 60
may be affected by prescription drug abuse. Older Americans take
prescription medicines three times as often as the rest of us, yet the
elderly are least likely to use their medications correctly. One reason may
be incorrect information about how to take the medicine, or older patients
simply may not know about a prescription drug's possible interaction with
other prescription drugs or alcohol.

New prescription drug abuse has dramatically increased among young people
between 12-25 years old and in the same 1999 survey, 12-14 year olds named
painkillers, sedatives, and stimulants as some of their more frequently
used drugs. According to a more recent survey at the University of
Wisconsin, one in five students had used methylphenidate (Ritalin)
nonmedically. Recent news reports indicate that college students'
non-medical use of pain relievers, such as oxycodone with aspirin
(Percodan) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) is on the rise.

Overall, men and women use prescription drugs non-medically in equal
numbers. However, some studies indicate that women may be more likely to
misuse narcotics and anti-anxiety drugs, in part because women are two to
three times more likely to be diagnosed with depression and, as a result,
to be treated with psychotherapeutic drugs. Among 12-17 year olds, young
women are more likely than young men to use psychotherapeutic drugs
non-medically.

Health care providers, pharmacists, and patients can all play a role in
preventing prescription drug misuse and abuse. Doctors should ensure that
patients understand how to use prescribed medications. They should also be
alert to signs of patient drug abuse, including rapid increases in the
amount of medicine needed or frequent request for prescription refills.

Pharmacists can help by clearly instructing people on how to take
medication and explaining side effects and potential drug interactions.
Checking for false or forged prescriptions discourages prescription fraud
and diversion.

Patients should make sure they know how to use their medication, and they
should not hesitate to ask questions about their prescriptions. By reading
the printed information provided by the pharmacist, patients will learn
about side effects and potential drug interactions. And, patients should
always talk to their doctor or pharmacist before increasing, decreasing, or
stopping any medication.

When patients use painkillers, sedatives, and stimulants as prescribed,
addiction rarely occurs and research indicates that few patients prescribed
opiates for pain become compulsive users of them. While it's important to
remember that prescription drugs can relieve a variety of medical problems,
these same drugs can be dangerous and even deadly -- when misused or abused.

Editor's Note: The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently launched an
initiative to raise public awareness about prescription drug use (see the
NIDA Web site www.drugabuse.gov). NIDA supports more than 85 percent of the
world's research on the health effects of drug abuse.