kilo
12-14-2004, 10:57 PM
Experts to Discuss Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse at CADCA Broadcast
If a drug is available over-the-counter, it’s safe and free from abuse, right? Evidence from poison control centers and emergency room clinics suggest the contrary. Hear experts discuss how over-the-counter drug abuse is affecting communities across the country and learn effective strategies to address the issue at a satellite broadcast hosted by CADCA next week. The OTC: Battling the Over-the-Counter High will take place on Thursday, December 16, 2004 at 1 p.m. EST.
While over-the-counter medications like Dextromethorphan (DXM) are used safely by millions of Americans each year to relieve coughs due to the common cold or flu, there have been reports of some young people intentionally abusing products containing the ingredient in an effort to get high. During the hour-long broadcast, viewers will hear a variety of perspectives—including a representative from the poison control center network, a retail drug store loss prevention expert and a person in treatment who has struggled with DXM addiction. Viewers will also learn about other potentially dangerous over-the-counter medications and what some stores, consumer healthcare organizations and communities are doing to help combat the problem.
During the past few years, calls to poison control centers about the misuse and abuse of over-the-counter medications have been on the rise. In 2003, poison control centers in the United States received twice as many calls about over-the-counter drug abuse than they did three years earlier. Similarly, emergency room visits caused by OTC abuse are also on the way up. Young people and adults alike are using cough syrups, cough suppressants, motion sickness drugs and more to get high.
This broadcast will discuss the scope of the problem, the effects of DXM abuse, how teens are abusing over-the-counter drugs, what parents should know about OTC abuse and resources for communities. Panelists will also explore what the non-prescription medicine industry is doing about the potential abuse of DXM and how community coalitions can form part of the solution.
The session will be moderated by Kareemah Abdullah, Deputy Director, Training and Technical Assistance, National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute. Panelists will include Dr. Vince Speranza, Managing Director of the Poison Control Information Center in Tampa, FL; Elizabeth Assey, Director of Communications and Media Relations for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association; and Bryon Wheeldon, Regional Loss Prevention Manager of Walgreens.
The broadcast will be webcast live at http://cadca.org/CoalitionResources/satell...eBroadcasts.asp (http://cadca.org/CoalitionResources/satelliteBroadcasts.asp) and www.health.org. You can also join this broadcast at no cost from any site with a satellite dish having C-band capabilities. All viewing sites must register in advance to receive the necessary satellite coordinates. To register, contact Ed Kronholm at 877-820-0305 or [email protected]. You can also register online at http://www.dlnets.com/MCTFT2nd.htm.
This broadcast is made possible through a partnership with the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training Program (MCTFT), St. Petersburg College and the Florida National Guard.
http://cadca.org/CoalitionsOnline/article.asp?id=609
If a drug is available over-the-counter, it’s safe and free from abuse, right? Evidence from poison control centers and emergency room clinics suggest the contrary. Hear experts discuss how over-the-counter drug abuse is affecting communities across the country and learn effective strategies to address the issue at a satellite broadcast hosted by CADCA next week. The OTC: Battling the Over-the-Counter High will take place on Thursday, December 16, 2004 at 1 p.m. EST.
While over-the-counter medications like Dextromethorphan (DXM) are used safely by millions of Americans each year to relieve coughs due to the common cold or flu, there have been reports of some young people intentionally abusing products containing the ingredient in an effort to get high. During the hour-long broadcast, viewers will hear a variety of perspectives—including a representative from the poison control center network, a retail drug store loss prevention expert and a person in treatment who has struggled with DXM addiction. Viewers will also learn about other potentially dangerous over-the-counter medications and what some stores, consumer healthcare organizations and communities are doing to help combat the problem.
During the past few years, calls to poison control centers about the misuse and abuse of over-the-counter medications have been on the rise. In 2003, poison control centers in the United States received twice as many calls about over-the-counter drug abuse than they did three years earlier. Similarly, emergency room visits caused by OTC abuse are also on the way up. Young people and adults alike are using cough syrups, cough suppressants, motion sickness drugs and more to get high.
This broadcast will discuss the scope of the problem, the effects of DXM abuse, how teens are abusing over-the-counter drugs, what parents should know about OTC abuse and resources for communities. Panelists will also explore what the non-prescription medicine industry is doing about the potential abuse of DXM and how community coalitions can form part of the solution.
The session will be moderated by Kareemah Abdullah, Deputy Director, Training and Technical Assistance, National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute. Panelists will include Dr. Vince Speranza, Managing Director of the Poison Control Information Center in Tampa, FL; Elizabeth Assey, Director of Communications and Media Relations for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association; and Bryon Wheeldon, Regional Loss Prevention Manager of Walgreens.
The broadcast will be webcast live at http://cadca.org/CoalitionResources/satell...eBroadcasts.asp (http://cadca.org/CoalitionResources/satelliteBroadcasts.asp) and www.health.org. You can also join this broadcast at no cost from any site with a satellite dish having C-band capabilities. All viewing sites must register in advance to receive the necessary satellite coordinates. To register, contact Ed Kronholm at 877-820-0305 or [email protected]. You can also register online at http://www.dlnets.com/MCTFT2nd.htm.
This broadcast is made possible through a partnership with the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training Program (MCTFT), St. Petersburg College and the Florida National Guard.
http://cadca.org/CoalitionsOnline/article.asp?id=609