News
NATIONAL POISON PREVENTION WEEK
March 16th-22nd is National Poison Prevention Week. We typically think of younger children when we think of poison control, but Dr. Cheryl Resha, Health Consultant at the State Dept. of Health, reminds us that teens and adolescents are also at risk.
Part of that risk comes from Pharming; the use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs for recreational use. Pharming is a new term, but not a new concept. With high profile celebrity deaths like Heath Ledger in the news it is an opportunity to highlight this increasing trend. Use of medications for non-medical reasons is on a dramatic rise in the U.S. across all age groups – teens, adults and older adults. In 2006, more than 16 million Americans aged 12 or over reported non-medical use of prescription pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants or sedatives, up from 14 million in 2004, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. A downloadable parent brochure is available from The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, entitled “Getting High On Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs Is Dangerous: A Guide to Keeping Your Teenager Safe in a Changing World”. The link to the brochure is:
http://www.drugfree.org/Files/rx_guide
For more information on poison control you can check out the Connecticut Poison Control Center:
http://poisoncontrol.uchc.edu/