Prescription Drugs Become Trash
Joel S. Hirschhorn
July 09, 2010
Everyone knows that Americans spend a fortune on prescription drugs, totaling over $300 billion this year. That works out to about $1,000 for every man, woman and child in the nation on average, but of course far more than that for actual individuals. There are about 4 billion prescriptions yearly, meaning an average of about $75 per prescription, but of course much more for many drugs.
Now, brace yourself for a statistic that boggles the mind. What fraction of all these expensive prescription drugs, many forms of pills and liquids, do you think ends up in the garbage? Or, actually, ends up in the toilet or down the drain and from there to all kinds of lakes, rivers and other water bodies. Such medical waste is a dangerous form of pollution. More than 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans.
If thrown away drugs end up in solid waste landfills they are less harmful, though they sometimes can contaminate underground water supplies. If burned in ordinary incinerators they may contribute to air pollution. Remember that when drugs are tossed into household garbage containers there is the danger that children or pets may access them.
So, how much becomes waste? Try some 40 percent or about 200 million pounds.
From an economy perspective it is depressing that so much money is being wasted on unused prescription drugs
In so many ways this drugs-to-trash phenomenon is a national disgrace.
The National Community Pharmacists Association has created a "Dispose My Meds" program. In 40 states some 800 community pharmacies participate. Consumers can bring their unwanted drugs to the stores and they will send them to a medical waste disposal facility. Or you can get a postage-paid envelope from participating pharmacies to mail them in. Check out Disposemydrugs.org for details about this program and to find a pharmacy near you. However, major drug store and other chains do not appear to be participating in this worthy program, which explains when I checked for my zip code why there was no participating store anywhere near my residence. Shame on CVS, Target, WalMart and so many other chains for not helping to address this national problem. Maybe we consumers need to take unused drugs back to where we bought them.
And maybe we need more creative thinking about the way drugs are prescribed in the first place. Drug pricing promotes purchase of larger quantities, typically a three months supply. Perhaps this convenience also contributes to a lot of drugs becoming trash, when people decide they no longer need to take the medicine, or when physicians decide it necessary to change a drug.
Also note that many over the counter drugs pose similar risks, especially because many were once prescription drugs. Which means there are many more millions of pounds of drugs ending up in the wrong places.
Finally, it breaks my heart that even as so many drugs are ending up as trash, millions of Americans are unable to get needed drugs because they cannot afford them.
Now, brace yourself for a statistic that boggles the mind. What fraction of all these expensive prescription drugs, many forms of pills and liquids, do you think ends up in the garbage? Or, actually, ends up in the toilet or down the drain and from there to all kinds of lakes, rivers and other water bodies. Such medical waste is a dangerous form of pollution. More than 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans.
If thrown away drugs end up in solid waste landfills they are less harmful, though they sometimes can contaminate underground water supplies. If burned in ordinary incinerators they may contribute to air pollution. Remember that when drugs are tossed into household garbage containers there is the danger that children or pets may access them.
So, how much becomes waste? Try some 40 percent or about 200 million pounds.
From an economy perspective it is depressing that so much money is being wasted on unused prescription drugs
In so many ways this drugs-to-trash phenomenon is a national disgrace.
The National Community Pharmacists Association has created a "Dispose My Meds" program. In 40 states some 800 community pharmacies participate. Consumers can bring their unwanted drugs to the stores and they will send them to a medical waste disposal facility. Or you can get a postage-paid envelope from participating pharmacies to mail them in. Check out Disposemydrugs.org for details about this program and to find a pharmacy near you. However, major drug store and other chains do not appear to be participating in this worthy program, which explains when I checked for my zip code why there was no participating store anywhere near my residence. Shame on CVS, Target, WalMart and so many other chains for not helping to address this national problem. Maybe we consumers need to take unused drugs back to where we bought them.
And maybe we need more creative thinking about the way drugs are prescribed in the first place. Drug pricing promotes purchase of larger quantities, typically a three months supply. Perhaps this convenience also contributes to a lot of drugs becoming trash, when people decide they no longer need to take the medicine, or when physicians decide it necessary to change a drug.
Also note that many over the counter drugs pose similar risks, especially because many were once prescription drugs. Which means there are many more millions of pounds of drugs ending up in the wrong places.
Finally, it breaks my heart that even as so many drugs are ending up as trash, millions of Americans are unable to get needed drugs because they cannot afford them.
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