Preventing Rx Abuse in Your Community

1. Preventing Rx Abuse in Your Community

2. About this presentation Coalitions should feel free to adapt the following slides into their education and outreach activities. Here’s what you’ll find: The Teen – Rx Abuse Connection Facts & Stats Teen & Adult Attitudes About Rx Abuse Outreach to Teens, Parents, Families & Community Want to Learn More? We have placed relevant source information in the notes section of each slide. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

3. The Teen – Rx Abuse Connection Rx Medications are All Around Us…and Teens Notice • There’s a “pill for every ill,” and when we go to the doctor due to illness, it’s natural to want to walk out with a prescription! • Direct-to-consumer advertising on TV and in magazines is pervasive. • Many people don’t know how to safely use these medications or ignore their doctor’s instructions. • Every day, 2000 teens abuse a prescription drug for the first time. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

4. As a result… Rx drugs are part of teen culture. Teens • Normalize this form of drug abuse. • Take these meds for legitimate reasons – with or without a prescription – to stay awake, remain alert or to go to sleep. • Purposely abuse these drugs to get high. They participate in “pharming” and “bowling” parties. • Are often unaware that these activities can lead to disastrous results. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

5. Teenagers don’t know that abusing Rx drugs can • Increase blood pressure or heart rate. • Damage the brain and other organs. • Lead to accidental overdose / poisonings. • Cause physical dependency and / or addiction. • Disrupt breathing (respiratory depression). • Lead to risks associated with mixing multiple drugs or combining with alcohol. • Cause seizures and even death. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

6. Facts & Stats While Rx drugs serve an important purpose when used under a doctor’s care, the misuse of prescription medicines is a growing, under-recognized problem that puts young lives at risk. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

7. Next to marijuana, the most common illegal drugs teens are abusing are prescription medicines. • While there continues to be a long-term drop in past-year non-medical use of Rx medicines overall, the increased abuse of prescription stimulants—particularly among teens and young people—is a cause of concern. Did you know? Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

8. Teens’ Rx Drugs of Choice For Abuse Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

9. Rx Access Points— Friends & Family Source of Concern Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

10. Teens & Adult attitudesabout Rx abuse MIXING OVER-THE-COUNTER COLD MEDICATION and someone else's prescription painkillers CAUSED THE DEATH OF MY SON…I could get my hands on prescription medicines AS FAST AS I COULD BUY A PIZZA…the problem IS AS CLOSE AS YOUR MEDICINE CABINET…PART OF ME DIED THAT DAY when my daughter was taken away on a gurney…TEEN RX ABUSE is more than an emerging problem. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

11. Teens say that… • They abuse these medicines for a variety of reasons: • Get high • Treat pain • They think it will help them with their school work • Interestingly, boys and girls tend to abuse some types of prescription drugs for different reasons. Boys are more likely to abuse prescription stimulants to get high, while girls tend to abuse them to stay alert or to lose weight. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

12. Parental / Guardian beliefs & attitudes • Many parents aren’t aware of the dangers of Rx abuse—it’s just not on their radar screen. • Prescription medicines can be found in homes of family or friends, and parents don’t realize the connection between teen Rx abuse and easy availability. • Many parents do not know how to effectively talk with their teens about Rx drug abuse. • They often find out about an Rx problem when it is too late. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

13. EDUCATE Watch for Physical Warning Signs • Excessive sweating, urination or thirst • Nausea and vomiting • Uncontrollable diarrhea • Spastic shaking • Drowsiness, dizziness and insomnia • Loss of consciousness • Physical dependence • Addiction Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

14. EDUCATE Watch for Other Warning Signs • Sudden mood changes, including irritability, negative attitude, personality change. • Extreme changes in groups of friends or hangout locations. • Lying or being deceitful, unaccounted time away from home/missed school days, avoiding eye contact. • Losing interest in personal appearance, extracurricular activities or sports. • Poor performance at school. • Borrowing money or having extra cash. • Visiting and even purchasing from pro-drug abuse (illegal) web sites. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

15. COMMUNICATE Talk to teens about Rx abuse • Teens learn by example. When they see mom, dad, a sibling or grandparent taking a pill – even responsibly – it doesn’t seem so bad. • Many teens report that their parents have the greatest influence on their drug use attitudes and decisions. • Kids who continue to learn about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50% less likely to use drugs than those who are not taught about these dangers. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

16. COMMUNICATE Talking to teens • “DENORMALIZE” THE BEHAVIORWhile on-average, 2000 teens use prescription drugs without a doctor’s guidance for the first time, many more DO NOT! • DEBUNK COMMON MYTHS: Rx abuse is just as dangerous as abusing other substances; it can be addictive; and it’s not OK to misuse these drugs even “once in a while.” • PROVIDE CLEAR GUIDELINES If you’re a parent, let teens know you will be disappointed if they abuse Rx medications and watch how you use medicines in front of teens. • GIVE TEENS ESCAPE ROUTES Teach them how to get out of bad situations; and suggest responses they can use when confronted with potential prescription medicine abuse or misuse: • “No, thanks – not into it.” • “Not today.” • “I’m not interested.” Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

17. SAFEGUARD Keep track of your meds • Parents (and other family members) are in the best position to reduce access to prescription drugs by locking up medicines and properly disposing of expired or unused medicines. • Monitor all medications in the home—prescription and OTC medicines. • Safely store medicines out of children’s reach and sight. Consider locking them up. • Get rid of old or unused medicines. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

18. SAFEGUARD Guidelines for Rx drug disposal • Follow instructions on the Rx drug label or patient information that comes with the medicine. Never flush medicines down the sink or toilet unless you are instructed to do so. • Take advantage of community drug take-back programs, including National Drug Take-Back Days. Call your city or county government's household trash and recycling service to see if a take-back program is available in your community. • If neither instructions nor take-back events are accessible, throw the drugs away in the household trash, following these steps: • Remove the medicine from its original container and mix it with an undesirable substance (cat litter or used coffee grinds). • Place the mixture in a sealed bag, empty can or other container. • Before disposing of a medicine container, scratch out all identifying information on the prescription label so it can’t be read. • Never give these medicines to others. • When in doubt about proper disposal, talk with your pharmacist. Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action

19. Want to learn more? COMMUNITY ANTI-DRUG COALITIONS OF AMERICAwww.cadca.org NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DRUG DIVERSION INVESTIGATORS www.naddi.org NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PATIENT INFORMATION AND EDUCATION’S RECOVERY OPENS DOORS www.recoveryopensdoors.org NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE, PRESCRIPTION DRUGShttp://www.nida.nih.gov/drugpages/prescription.html NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL PREVENTING Rx DRUG OVERDOSES http://www.nsc.org/safety_home/PrescriptionDrugOverdoses/Pages/Prescription-Drug-Overdoses.aspx PARTNERSHIP FOR A DRUG-FREE AMERICA www.drugfree.org PEERx (NIDA for Teens)http://teens.drugabuse.gov/peerx WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY, PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSEwww.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/prescription-drug-abuse Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit - from awareness to action