Canada is second to the United
States for its misuse of prescription drugs.
It has been estimated that over 350,000 Canadian kids have taken pharmaceutical
drugs that were not prescribed to them by a doctor. A recent Ontario report revealed that the number of
opioid-related deaths soared by 242 per cent between 1991 and 2010. Opioids are
in the group of medicinal drugs that contain opium (or an opium-like substance)
that is usually prescribed by physicians for pain relief.
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| Prescription Drugs |
Because of the issues associated with prescription
drug abuse in Canada,
federal health minister Rona Ambrose announced that Health Canada will be
imposing more descriptive warnings on labels for controlled-released
prescription narcotics. It wants to
modify such labels that display “for moderate pain” to labels that clarify that
these types of drugs are to be used “for severe pain”.
Ambrose was quoted as saying that prescription drug
abuse is “a major public health and safety concern” for many Canadians and remarked
that this country is second only to the United States for its per capita
consumption of prescription opioids.
What Can We Do?
One practical and reassuring way to restrain
prescription drug abuse in our own homes would be to return unused portions to
drug stores. Canada’s
National Drug Take Back Campaign has partnered with Shopper’s Drug Mart and
Pharmaprix to help tackle this issue.
Find a drug store near you and participate in this positive
campaign. Remove all leftover pain medications from your medicine cabinet and
help reduce the misuse of prescription drugs in Canada.
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