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Pills Can Kill

Shelby Holliday

Shelby Holliday

SEE MORE POSTS BY SHELBY
November 03, 2011

image: Pills Can Kill When you work in news, you are bound to encounter stories that hit a little too close to home.

That's exactly what happened to me yesterday -- while I was in New York editing a piece about prescription drug abuse, some of my high school friends were in Denver attending a memorial service. Over the weekend, we learned that our former classmate Jaret had overdosed on painkillers and died. Losing someone at such a young age is always a tragedy, but as I learned yesterday, this kind of tragedy is not unique.

According to a new report from the CDC, nearly 15,000 people die from prescription painkiller overdoses each year -- that's more than those who die from heroin and cocaine overdoses combined. And that's not the only disturbing statistic from the CDC:

  • Prescription painkiller overdoses killed nearly 15,000 people in the US in 2008. This is more than 3 times the 4,000 people killed by these drugs in 1999.
  • In 2010, about 12 million Americans (age 12 or older) reported non-medical use of prescription painkillers in the past year.
  • Nearly half a million emergency department visits in 2009 were due to people misusing or abusing prescription painkillers. 
  • Nonmedical use of prescription painkillers costs health insurers up to $72.5 billion annually in direct health care costs.

Our growing painkiller problem has gotten so bad that the CDC is now calling it a "public health epidemic," and many abusers say they got hooked when they were young.

Prescription addiction is no joke. If you or someone you know has a problem, we have a list of resources here.

Pills can kill, and one life lost is one too many. My complete report from today's show is below.

Slideshow: Prescription Drug Resources

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Drug-Free Youth Groups: Drug Free Youth In Town (DFYIT), the organization often referred to as "de-fy it," is dedicated to giving recognition to preteens and teens who choose to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle in the form of self-governing school clubs, scholarships and other activities in their communities.Accoriding to Barbara Zolhman of DFYIT, there are 7,000 teens across the country involved with DFYIT who "remain drug and alcohol free and deserve to be rewarded." With 200,000 hours of community service completed, these teens not only say no, they support each other and educate their peers about the dangers of drug abuse. Zolhman also said, "If they abuse, this is a good way to stay sober."Each day members of DFYIT stand up to peer pressure and build leadership skills with these school-based clubs. Members of the club receive random drug testing and develop awareness programs in their community.To start DFYIT in your school check out their website above. Counseling and Therapy: "At least it's not heroin.""It's not fair for my dad to tell me not to ever use again.""I just want one last party.""Sadly, these are some of the statements I hear," says psychologist, physical therapist and author of the bestselling book "A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness, Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo.Lombardo is a therapist who helps teens cope with their addictions and drug abuse problems. When asked about prescription drug use among teens she said that it's more prevalent than ever before because "our society is so stressed out -- people look for food and drugs to cope," but since prescription drugs are easily available, many think "it's not a big deal.It's her job to help them find out why they are using and to learn skills to cope with stress to help teens with their self-esteem. One technique she use is asking teens to list the pros and cons of using. Dr. Lombardo has them rate each pro and con from 0-10 of importance and then add the columns.By using simple addition she helps teens weigh their choices, "It's about helping them figure out why not to use. I problem solve with them." Drug Rehab: There are many drug rehabilitation facilities available to teens with drug abuse problems. G & G Holistic Treatment Inc., in Miami, Florida is an example of a high end facility. We spoke with John Giordano, one of the co-founders of the organization about pharming."Prescription drugs are rampant," said Giordano. "Teens are going to pill parties where a bunch of kids get together and trade." He added, "They buy, steal and go to clinics" to get them.When teens become addicted, but want to stop using, they can enroll in their rehab program that incorporates medical detox, therapy, motivational seminars, nutrition training and even acupuncture.As someone who has personally dealt with teens who abused drugs, Giordano is dedicated to helping teens and preventing the dangerous side effects that come with abusing meds like Vicodin.If you or someone you know is suffering from difficult problems and has been using drugs, he suggests finding help from someone you trust immediately. Online Resources: National Institute for Drug Abuse for Teens is a resource for information about drugs, drug abuse and where to find help near you.According to their website, NIDA provides scientific data about drug use and their side effects. "Recognizing that teens want to be treated as equals, NIDA scientists were careful not to preach about the dangers of drug use. Rather, the site delivers science-based facts about how drugs affect the brain and body so that kids will be armed with better information to make healthy decisions."

Video: Prescription Drug Abuse

Overdoses from painkillers have tripled in decade, report shows.


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