Notable News – I was reading the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) the other day and I have to say, I almost fell out of my chair when I read an article telling people to flush their unused prescription medications down the toilet if they were expired or no longer needed. Let me repeat – down the toilet!
I mean, we’re talking about pain-relieving opiods and other controlled substances, which I don’t have to tell you are extremely harmful to kids and pets, even in low amounts!
Don’t get me wrong – yes, it makes complete sense to recommend flushing away dangerous drugs to keep them out of the hands (and paws) of our little ones, but is there not a better way to get rid of these drugs? Even though a lot of them aren’t included in the pharmaceutical take-back program offered by some cities and counties, I still believe there has to be a better way – don’t you?
The topic of harmful pharmaceuticals in the public water supply is receiving more and more attention lately. Even the JAMA article acknowledged this, stating, “…the FDA is sensitive to concerns about the small potential risk to people and the environment of having these drugs flushed into the water supply and hopes to develop long-term solutions. However, at least for the short-term, the agency is more worried about life-threatening risks from accidental ingestion of these medications.”
Unbelievable! This short-term thinking is one of the main problems with health care today. I’m fuming. Anyone else?