Prescription Drug Abuse

This week, I was browsing the wonderful world of Facebook and I came across a kid that I went to high school with. He had just gotten back from rehab. It hit me really hard to know that someone that I actually knew had used drugs so much that he had to go to rehab because I only hear about that in the tabloids. That got me thinking about how prescription drug abuse is a major cause of death and adverse side effects.

Annually, there are approximately 9 million people that are using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes. Between 1995 and 2002, the percent increase of emergency-room visits tied to abuse of prescription drugs was 163%.

Use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes in 1999

Use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes in 2003.

The bottom graph just goes to show that the use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes is increasing as time goes on.

 Quick fact: legal drugs are responsible for the most deaths attributed to drugs. More than cocaine, heroine, and all other combinations of illegal drugs.

Well how does this relate to aging? Well, if you just take a brief moment to think about how you can die if you overdose of prescription drugs, then you will realize that there is no aging process. The fact is: if you die of overdosing from any kind of drug, there is no way to determine the effects of your body later in life, because you will not have a later life.