Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 2, 2008 9:32:55 AM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

US, UK Zero in on Illegal Prescription Drug Abuse

Posted Feb 10, 08 1:09 PM CST in World,  US,  Arts & Living,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – American and British officials have launched campaigns to curb the illegal use of prescription drugs. The target of the British effort is doctors who "mis-prescribe" high doses of painkillers and sleeping pills that officials say are proving dangerously addictive, the Guardian reports. Across the Atlantic, Washington is spearheading an initiative to alert parents to the new drug threat facing teens.

"This isn’t a problem of somebody selling drugs on the corner or in the back ally," one official told Voice of America. “These drugs are coming from our homes, our medicine cabinets." In Britain, a government inquiry found many doctors refilled prescriptions without seeing their patients, and called for better ways to assess patient need for drugs.

Sources Guardian (UK), Voice of America

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon
Some doctors needed to improve their repeat prescription systems so that the amount of drugs that patients were taking could be monitored and that fresh supplies would only be approved if they were medically...   (Index Stock)
Medical experts told a British inquiry that an unknown, but growing, number of people had become addicted to painkillers, often after taking them initially for a genuine medical complaint such as a sore...   (Index Stock)
Doctors are unwittingly fuelling the growing number of Britons hooked on prescription drugs by giving patients dangerously high doses of medicines that can prove highly addictive, a British inquiry has...   (Index Stock)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 1)

Tags

United Kingdom • doctor • Heath Ledger • prescription drugs • drug addiction • patients • painkiller • sleeping pills • over-the-counter drugs


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Science & Health Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »