|
Across the country school bells have started ringing again and parents are shuttling their kids to and from school, soccer practice, and other activities. Yet, in these busy times I wonder whether parents will discuss the serious and life-threatening consequences of an often overlooked form of substance abuse: the non-medical use of over-the-counter and prescription drugs. I'm one parent who hopes they do.
Medicine abuse is a growing problem that demands parents' immediate attention. According to a study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, nearly one in five teens reported abusing prescription medications to get high and one in ten teens reported abusing cough medicine to get high. In fact, more people abuse prescription drugs than most illegal drugs. In 2004, for instance, more than 6% of persons aged 12 or older reported non-medical use of prescription-type drugs, far surpassing use rates of cocaine (2.4%) and heroin (0.2%). Fellow parents, these numbers are alarming and this abuse needs to be addressed.
Just because these drugs are "legal" doesn't mean they're not lethal. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently reported that unintentionally fatal drug overdoses in the United States nearly doubled from 1999 to 2004, becoming the nation's second-leading cause of accidental death, behind automobile accidents. Climbing prescription drug abuse is largely to blame for this increase. Clearly, medicine abuse is an issue we've got to deal with - now.
That these medicines are inexpensive and easily accessible only exacerbates the problem. Parents can inadvertently become their child's drug dealer by failing to dispose of the unused portion of a prescription or neglecting to keep track of their medications. Rogue Internet pharmacies, which often don't require legitimate prescriptions to obtain highly addictive drugs, also provide ample opportunity for kids to get high on these medicines
Yet, parents and teens remain unaware of the danger. Although parents know to look for the syringes or smoking pipes hidden in a child's bedroom, they don't seem to know that their old prescription painkillers and bottles of cough syrup are also dangerous - and potentially lethal.
Teens are just as unaware. Disturbingly high numbers of teens think that just because these drugs are legal when properly prescribed, they can't be harmful. And 40%, or 9.4 million teens, mistakenly believe that prescription medicines are "much safer" than illegal drugs. Nothing could be further from the truth.
It is time to fix these misperceptions and stem the tide of abuse. Education and increased awareness of the dangers are key components of the solution, which starts with parents talking with their kids.
To help jumpstart this effort, I wrote a recently passed Senate resolution that declared August "National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month." It called on community leaders to equip parents with the tools they need to address the serious dangers of medicine abuse - not just in August, but all year long. Ultimately, this responsibility falls on the shoulders of America's parents; they've got to educate themselves, talk with their children, and safeguard the medicines in their home. It's time to reengage in discussions with our youth and dispel the notion that just because a pill is in a prescription bottle, it's safe - in any dose.
Parents should tap into the vast resources available. For example, last month the Partnership for a Drug-Free America launched a Time To Talk initiative to encourage parents to talk with their tweens and teens, and to provide parents and caregivers with tools to start and continue the conversation. And the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association developed A Dose of Prevention: Stopping Cough Medicine Abuse Before It Starts, an education toolkit that arms parents and educators with key information to address medicine abuse. These efforts are important, but it ultimately comes back to mom and dad.
Parents are the single biggest influence in their children's lives. In fact, research shows that kids who learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are up to 50% less likely to use drugs than those who do not. Yet, only about 3 in 10 kids report learning a lot about the risks of drugs from their parents. As parents, we need to talk more with our kids.
As parents help stuff those backpacks full of supplies and lunchboxes and shuttle kids around this new school year, I hope they remember that medicine abuse is a growing problem - but one that they can help solve by simply talking to their kids.
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is a United States Senator, Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, and author of the National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month resolution.
# # # #
|