Prescription drugs disposal

Viani, Lisa Owens. Don t Flush the Ambien Environmentally-Friendly Prescription Drug Disposal, San Mateo County, Calif. Utne Reader 146 (March/April, 2008) 82. To help protect water supplies and landfills from leakage of disposed prescription drugs, San Mateo has devised some environmentally friendly methods of disposal. According to the article, the country has set up a drop-off system for unused drugs and hopes other counties will adopt similar programs. 

Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs, Office of National Drug Control Policy. Available online. URL http //www.whitehousedmgpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/ prescrip disposal.pdf. Posted 2009. 

Sixth, states have taken another approach to preventing abuse besides monitoring prescription drugs. A few have set up programs to facilitate disposal of unused prescription drugs. Flushing old drugs down the toilet contaminates the water supply with trace amounts of antibiotics, mood... 

Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs. Available online. URL ... 

A Kaiser Family Foundation Health Poll Reports Survey conducted February 3-6, 2005 showed that a total of 50% of respondents had an overall unfavorable view of pharmaceutical companies while only 44% were favorably disposed. Only oil and tobacco companies were viewed more unfavorably among the industries included in the survey. In addition, 70% of respondents felt that pharmaceutical companies were most interested in making profits, putting profits ahead of people, and 81% felt that prescription drug prices are not usually justified because companies charge more than necessary. Data available at www.kff.org/ healthreport/feb 2005/index.cfm. 

This practice can be costly for the client who can t afford to purchase new medication when the old one appears to have expired. At the same time, clients should be reminded that old medications could prove ineffective and may be discarded after consultation with the pharmacist. If there arc two dates on a prescription bottle, the earlier is the one most likely put there by the drug manufacturer and is the one that should be followed. Care should always be taken when disposing of medications. Remind clients that it is better to flush them down the toilet than to simply throw them in the trash. 

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