Prescription Drug Abuse Increasing

Prescription drug problems are on the rise. A study of hospitalizations reveals that accidental overdose and abuse have resulted in 37 percent more admissions between 1999 and 2006. The rate of intentional overdose of medicines such as Vicodin, Percocet, Ativan or Valium zoomed by 130 percent. Many of these were suicide attempts.
Such drug overdoses are classified as poisonings, which are now the second leading cause of death from unintentional injury. The data were drawn from hospitals around the country. The researchers suggested that patients should be better educated about how to use medicine properly and when to stop taking them. They also recommend tougher sanctions for pharmacies that dispense drugs inappropriately.
[American Journal of Preventive Medicine, May, 2010]