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11/06/2008 - Misuse of Prescription Drugs Rising in the United States
According to a recent study, non-medical use of prescription painkillers has risen in the past year. In September, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Office of Applied Studies released results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. The annual survey includes responses from some 67,500 people across the country.
While the survey showed improvements in rates of illicit drug use among young people, abuse of prescription pain relievers has risen 12 percent since last year’s survey. The increase in misuse of prescription drugs is causing increasing concern among the medical community, as medications can lead to addictive disease.
Similar report findings were seen last year by SAMHSA, but researchers say the numbers are even higher this year. As a growing trend emerges, health professionals and officials are becoming increasingly concerned that the painful experiences seen with illegal drugs and youth will be relived through misuse of prescribed drugs.
Results of the report showed that past-month non-medical use of prescription-type drugs among young adults age 18 to 25 increased from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.4 percent in 2006. In addition, an estimated 5.2 million persons were current non-medical users of prescription pain relievers in 2006, which is more than the estimated 4.7 million in 2005.
The report also indicated where most kids were getting these drugs. Of those age 12 or older who used pain relievers non-medically in the past year, 55.7 percent reported that they obtained the drugs from a friend or relative for free during the most recent time of use. Another 18.1 percent reported they got the drug from just one doctor. Only 4.1 percent got the pain relievers from a drug dealer or other stranger, and 0.5 percent reported buying the drug on the Internet.
The most commonly abused prescription drugs were prescription-type pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives.
Based on the results of the report, SAMHSA officials want to act quickly to increase awareness of the dangers of prescription drugs. Additionally, they hope to curb the ease of obtaining drugs by decreasing illegal diversion of prescription medications and encouraging safer practices for distributing such drugs.