Monthly Archive for: ‘July, 2013’
Drug Disposal
Unused Drug Disposal
Is your medicine cabinet filled with expired drugs or medications you no longer use? How should you dispose of them?
Most drugs can be thrown in the household trash, but consumers should take certain precautions before tossing them out, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A few drugs should be flushed down the toilet. And a growing number of community-based “take-back” programs offer another safe disposal alternative.
The FDA has put together a website with valuable information on how to safely dispose of all those unused old prescription and OTC medications you may be holding onto.
Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse
Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse
Estimated annual dialysis cost for just one person who has wrecked his own kidneys by shooting heroin (“heroin nephropathy”):$50,000.
More Celebrity Addictions
More Celebrity Addictions
Rod Stewart: Steroid ‘addiction’ shrank my manhood!
‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy’ singer reveals horrible physical side effects of drugs he used to treat vocal chords
It used to be this big! Rod Stewart revealed in a recent magazine interview that his manhood was affected by his continual use of steroids.
Ozzy Osbourne – Sugar Puffs
Rocker OZZY OSBOURNE has developed an addiction to British breakfast cereal Sugar Puffs – so much so, he has the snack shipped out to his home in Los Angeles.
The Black Sabbath star is reported to have been so distraught by the lack of the glazed wheat cereal in the U.S, he requested the foodstuff be sent to him across the Atlantic.
A source tells British newspaper The Sun, “One of the team at Honey Monster Foods (Sugar Puffs’ parent company) received an email from Ozzy Osbourne’s people in L.A. asking them to ship over some boxes of Sugar Puffs.
“They said it was his favourite breakfast cereal and he was wound up because he couldn’t find any over there.”
A spokesperson for Honey Monster Foods says, “The wild man of rock is used to other cravings but has, in his old age, moved onto softer, safer stuff.”
It was never dull when Lorenzo Amoruso played for Rangers.
And one of the more memorable stories of the self-styled Italian Stallion’s time in Glasgow was when he came clean about his drink problem.
It wasn’t any ordinary booze addiction – but a thirst for Irish whiskey and liqueur, BAILEYS.
Apparently the stopper got hooked on the cream based drink while he recovered from an early injury after signing at Ibrox.
Angelina Jolie – Cockroaches
Angelina Jolie has admitted she craves creepy crawlies and in particular COCKROACHES.
The Hollywood superstar is recognised as heroine Lara Croft and is famous for her roles in Changeling and Mr and Mrs Smith.
And Angie developed a taste for the bugs while spending time in Cambodia and described them as meaty and full of protein.
“There’s this very pointy bit on their stomach you just can’t eat. You have to kind of pop that off.” —Angelina Jolie on Cambodian snacking, as quoted in a new book about celebrity eating habits. If this disturbs you, then you don’t want to watch Bug Eater 2: Cockroach Eating Girl. [Montreal Gazette]
Popstar Beyonce Knowles is addicted to playing online games
with strangers as her opponents have no idea they’re pitting themselves against a superstar. -
The ‘Halo’ hitmaker unwinds by spending hours in Internet chatrooms playing card games, Allure magazine reported online.
The 28-year-old singer admits she gets a secret thrill out of remaining completely anonymous amongst her rivals and not revealing her true identity.
“I play with everybody, and they curse me out when I make mistakes, and kick me out of the room. I love it, it’s really fun because no one knows it’s me,” Beyonce said.
Jessica Simpson – Nicotine chewing gum
Jessica Simpson has developed an addiction to nicotine chewing gum, even though she has never smoked a cigarette. The singer started using the product, which is designed to help smokers quit, by accident – but now relies on it for energy.
She says: “I am addicted to Nicorette gum… Never in my life have I smoked. The first time I ever chewed a piece of Nicorette gum one of my close friends’ mother gave it to me. I think she thought she was giving me a piece of regular gum.”
“I was chewing it and it was like a party in my mouth. It was like fireworks and ‘Oh my God, I’m talking a million miles per hour and I love this gum and what kind of gum is this? I have to have this gum!’ It’s Nicorette and it gives me energy – it’s like drinking three Red Bulls (energy drinks).”
4th of July at PRC
Fourth of July Celebrations at Pasadena Recovery Center, Great Sober Fun!!!
Program Assistant Andrew P getting the pinata ready at PRC’s 4th of July picnic. Clients were joined by family & friends for BBQ, water balloon fights, music and fireworks.
Prescription Drug Deaths Among Middle-Aged Women
Prescription Drug Deaths - Drug overdose deaths spike among middle-aged women
Fatimah Waseem, USA TODAY1:01 p.m. EDT July 2, 2013
More women are dying from prescription painkiller overdoses than ever before, highlighting what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls a growing public health epidemic.
The CDC study shows that while men are still more likely to die of overdoses, the number of deaths among women increased five-fold in the last decade, four times more than deaths in women from cocaine and heroin combined, says CDC director Tom Frieden. About 12% of these deaths were suicides, CDC experts said.
The rate of prescription drug overdose deaths of women increased 400% from 1999 to 2010, compared with an increase of 250% for men. More men die of prescription painkiller overdoses — about 23,000 in 2010, compared with 15,300 for women.
“Unfortunately, women are catching up in this regard,” Frieden said.
Women may be more prone to overdoses because they’re more likely to have chronic pain, be prescribed painkillers, have higher doses, and use them longer than men, said Linda Degutis, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. But doctors may not recognize these facts about women, said John Eadie, director of a Brandeis University program that tracks prescription-drug monitoring in the USA.
Overdose deaths from prescription painkillers skyrocketed over the past decade despite no major increases in the need for prescription painkillers over the last 20 years, said Chris Jones, a health scientist at CDC. Doctors are prescribing medications more frequently for patients who may not need them, a trend in the medical profession that needs to be reversed, Frieden said.
Women between 45 and 54 had the greatest increases in drug overdose deaths, likely because of dependence on prescription drugs to ease chronic pain, experts said.
A jump was also seen in visits to hospital emergency rooms. Painkiller-related ER visits by women more than doubled between 2004 and 2010, the CDC found.
These numbers alone, however, may not tell the whole tale.
“If one looks carefully at the data it can be quickly seen that the vast majority of prescription overdose deaths occur as a consequence of individuals combining these drugs with another sedative,” said Carl Hart, a Columbia University associate professor who studies drugs and behavior.
The solution to this prescription problem lies in maximizing prescription monitoring programs, Frieden said.
Washington began one of the first such programs in 2007, allowing pharmacists to submit patient records of prescriptions, dosage, the dispenser and prescriber to the state’s health department. Frieden says these programs can curb drug use by catching “doctor shoppers” and “pill mills,” but critics say the programs can be intrusive for conscientious clinicians and patients.
Health care providers should responsibly prescribe prescription painkillers by monitoring patients for substance abuse and mental health problems, discussing patient treatment options that don’t involve prescription drugs, and discussing the risks and benefits of taking painkillers for chronic conditions, the CDC says.
Patients should use prescription drugs only as directed by doctors, discuss all medications they’re taking with their doctors, and dispose of medication after they’ve completed the prescribed treatment, Frieden said. Women should also discuss pregnancy plans with their doctors to ensure infants do not develop heart malformations and become addicted to opiates, he said.
He said giving this “under-recognized issue” a spotlight is key in keeping deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses at bay.
“While we should be concerned about new drug-related trends, especially drug-related deaths, I am more concerned about us missing an important public health education opportunity,” Hart said.
Contributing: Associated Pres
