Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal

Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal, Florida Says

From “Scarface” to “Miami Vice,” Florida’s drug problem has been portrayed as the story of a single narcotic: cocaine. But for Floridians, prescription drugs are increasingly a far more lethal habit.

An analysis of autopsies in 2007 released this week by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that the rate of deaths caused by prescription drugs was three times the rate of deaths caused by all illicit drugs combined.

Law enforcement officials said that the shift toward prescription-drug abuse, which began here about eight years ago, showed no sign of letting up and that the state must do more to control it.

“You have health care providers involved, you have doctor shoppers, and then there are crimes like robbing drug shipments,” said Jeff Beasley, a drug intelligence inspector for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which co-sponsored the study. “There is a multitude of ways to get these drugs, and that’s what makes things complicated.”

Full story at the New York Times

See also;

• Abstinence from Heroin Addiction Works
• Alcohol & Medication Interactions
• Alcohol is a drug – TOO!
• Subscribe by e-Mail to Alcohol Self-help News

Pilots Barred from Taking Chantix

  The American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says that pilots and air-traffic controllers may not use the antismoking drug Chantix, citing concerns about side-effects associated with the drug, the Associated Press reported May 21.

“We have immediate safety concerns about the use of varenicline (Chantix) among persons operating aircraft, trains, buses and other vehicles, or in other settings where a lapse in alertness or motor control could lead to massive, serious injury,” said a new report from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, which found hundreds of cases where Chantix users experienced dizziness, loss of consciousness, seizures, and abnormal movements and spasms.

A spokesperson for the FAA said that the ban would go into effect immediately even though the agency has not received any reports of Chantix being involved in aviation accidents.

Pfizer, the maker of Chantix, said that the labels on the drug already warn against operating heavy machinery or driving, and the firm cast doubt on reports of incidents of serious side effects. “It is important to understand the limitations of spontaneous adverse event reporting,” the company said. “Often these reports lack sufficient medical information and/or have confounding factors that prevent a meaningful assessment of causality.”

See also;

• Chantix warning
• Craving reduction drug for alcohol AND smoking
• Alcohol is a drug – TOO!
• Subscribe by e-Mail to Alcohol Self-help News

Teens and Sleep Problems - Alcohol, Drugs

Adolescents with chronic insomnia report ‘twofold to fivefold’ increase in personal problems

Documenting a “twofold to fivefold” increase in personal problems among adolescents with persistent sleeplessness, public health researchers at The University of Texas say they have completed the first prospective study demonstrating the negative impact of chronic insomnia on 11 to 17 year olds.

More than one fourth of the youths surveyed had one or more symptoms of insomnia and almost half of these youngsters had chronic conditions. Findings appear in the March issue of the “Journal of Adolescent Health” and are based on interviews with 3,134 adolescents in metropolitan Houston.

“Insomnia is both common and chronic among adolescents,” wrote lead author Robert E. Roberts. “The data indicate that the burden of insomnia is comparable to that of other psychiatric disorders such as mood, anxiety, disruptive behaviour and substance abuse disorders. Chronic insomnia severely impacts future health and functioning of youths.”

Researchers measured 14 aspects of personal wellbeing and found that adolescents with chronic insomnia were much more likely to have problems with drug use, depression, school work, jobs and perceived health.

The symptom criteria for insomnia includes difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, early morning awakening and non-restorative sleep over the previous four weeks.

In the initial screening, 27 percent had one of more symptoms of insomnia, 7 percent had one or more symptoms of insomnia plus daytime fatigue or sleepiness or both, and 5 percent met the clinical diagnosis criteria, which attempts to rule out other psychiatric disorders, as well as the effects of alcohol, drugs or medication, which can be confused with chronic insomnia.

Other studies indicate that chronic insomnia among adolescents can be caused by behavioral and emotional issues, Roberts said.

Roberts said adolescents with chronic insomnia were more likely to seek medical care. “These data suggest that primary care settings might provide a venue for screening and early intervention of adolescent insomnia,” he said.

The study is titled “Chronic Insomnia and Its Negative Consequences for Health and Functioning of Adolescents: A 12-Month Prospective Study.”

See also;

• Teenagers are Normal Sometimes
• Adolescent Development and Alcohol
• Drugs and Addiction Information for Parents and Teachers

FDA Steps Up Warnings on Chantix

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is “increasingly likely” that the stop-smoking drug Chantix can cause depression, suicidal thoughts and other psychiatric problems, the Associated Press reported Feb. 1st 2008.

People who want to use the drug to stop smoking should inform their doctor if they have a history of mental-health problems, FDA said. “Chantix may cause worsening of current psychiatric illness even if it is currently under control. It may also cause an old psychiatric illness to reoccur,” the agency said.

Two weeks ago, Chantix maker Pfizer amended warnings on the drug to include information on the reported link between use of the stop-smoking drug and psychiatric problems. About four million prescriptions for Chantix have been written.  

And from Wikipedia;

Varenicline (trade name Chantix in the USA and Champix in Europe, Mexico, Canada and Australia, manufactured by Pfizer, usually in the form of varenicline tartrate) is a prescription medication used to treat smoking addiction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chantix

See also;

Nicotine Anonymous

Taking Oxycodone / Oxycontin Safely

 

  Professionally written Patient Handout

• Safely Taking Oxycodone [in English and Spanish]

From: Pain Treatment Topics; June 2007; 7 pages.

These special 2-page, peer-reviewed “Patient Instructions” handouts on the safe use of oxycodone are available in English and Spanish and can be downloaded and reproduced free of charge for distribution at the time oxycodone analgesia is prescribed.

Ideally, these also would be used as discussion guides for face-to-face education of patients — and their families or caregivers.

The emphasis of the handouts is on medication compliance and safety, to help prevent misuse and avoidable adverse events potentially associated with oxycodone analgesia therapy.

PDF available here for download: OxycodoneHandout.pdf (350 KB)

See also;

• Science of Addiction
• Brief-TSF is designed to help an alcoholic.