Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2001
Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (NH)
Copyright: 2001 Geo. J. Foster Co
Contact:  http://www.fosters.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/160
Author: Alan I. Leshner, PhD
Note: Author is Director of NIDA

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.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth