Almost one in five boys of high school age, and 11 percent of school-age children overall, have received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United States, according to new government data.
Many doctors are concerned that ADHD diagnoses and medication are overused in children, The New York Times reports.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found an estimated 6.4 million children ages 4 to 17 had received an ADHD diagnosis at some point. This represents a 16 percent increase since 2007, and a 53 percent increase in the past 10 years.
The findings come from a CDC study of children’s health issues, which included interviews with more than 76,000 parents nationwide.
About two-thirds of those diagnosed with ADHD receive prescriptions for stimulant drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin. These drugs, while they can be very effective in treating the disorder, also have the potential for addiction, anxiety and even psychosis, the article notes.
Full story of ADHD diagnoses in teens at DrugFree.org
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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education
FedEx and UPS say they are targets of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation into online pharmacy shipments, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
The DEA effort is aimed at cracking down on the country’s prescription drug abuse epidemic, the article notes. The agency will not confirm its involvement in the investigation, but both shipping companies have disclosed the probe in corporate filings, according to the newspaper.
Federal officials want the companies to take responsibility for the prescription drugs inside the packages they are shipping, the article states. FedEx spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald responded, “We are a transportation company — we are not law enforcement, we are not doctors and we are not pharmacists.” He added, “We have no interest in violating the privacy of our customers by opening and inspecting their packages in an attempt to determine the legality of the contents. We stand ready and willing to support and assist law enforcement. We cannot, however, do their jobs for them.”
Full story of FedEx and UPS in DEA Probe at DrugFree.org
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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education
Underscoring the importance of collaboration in the national fight against prescription drug abuse, the 2013 National Rx Drug Abuse Summit will focus on ways participants can “Make an Impact” not only in their communities, but on the country as a whole.
With accidental prescription overdose deaths occurring at 1 every 15 minutes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), emergency room visits nearly doubling in the past five years, and hospital admissions increasing 400 percent over the past decade, it is imperative we act immediately.
The second National Rx Drug Abuse Summit – to be held April 2-4, 2013, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate in Florida – will help in this effort.
By bringing together professionals from many disciplines, the Summit provides all stakeholders timely, relevant and evidence-based information. This type of collaboration enables bringing impactful solutions to communities across the United States.
Full story of Rx Summit at DrugFree.org
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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education
It’s not the color, but what’s inside that counts when it comes to medication. However, doctors suspect that’s not exactly how patients see it.
According to a study published Monday in the medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine, changes in pill color significantly increase the odds that a patient will fail to take their medication as prescribed by their doctor.
First, the basics
Generic drugs are approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Office of Generic Drugs. These off-brand alternatives must be “bioequivalent” to the brand-name version, meaning they must be identical in terms of dosage form, strength, route of administration, quality, intended use, and clinical efficacy. But the FDA does not require that the two versions look alike.
Generics are big business worldwide. In America, they account for more than 70% of prescriptions dispensed, but only 16% of spending. Generic prescriptions are expected to increase even more, as top-selling brand-name medications reach the end of their market – and profit – exclusivity and go “off patent.” In the United States, drug patents offer 20 years of protection for the pharmaceutical company, but they are applied for before clinical trials begin, so the effective life of a drug patent tends to be somewhere around 7-12 years.
Full story of identifying medications at CNN Health
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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education
About 2.3 million children and adults abused prescription drugs for the first time last year, according to a new government survey on drug use in America.
That’s about 6,400 new prescription drug abusers a day—taking everything from pain relievers and tranquilizers to stimulants and sedatives.
But a Monday report on prescription drug abuse from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows a 14% drop in the number of young people aged 18 to 25 who are abusing prescription drugs – from 2 million in 2010 to 1.7 million last year.
“The fact that it dropped specifically among 18 to 25-year-olds was a very welcome piece of information, since this is a group of people who enter into the workforce and begin college and begin families. To see that their use was declining was good news for the nation,” said Dr. Peter Delany, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Prescription drug abuse starts on average at age 22. Among young people, only the use of marijuana is more common.
Full story of young adults prescriptions at CNN Health
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Almost one in five boys of high school age, and 11 percent of school-age children overall, have received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United States, according to new government data.
