| Small Precaution, Large Reward |
When food is past its prime, there's no question about where it goes. But what about the expired drugs in your medicine cabinet?
Keeping them invites confusion and accidental ingestion.
Flushing old medication down the toilet may seem like the easiest solution, but it might not be such a great idea from an environmental perspective.
In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey detected traces of medication in ground water across the country. Currently, municipal water treatment facilities are not equipped to filter out these contaminants. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently studying whether these small amounts pose a threat to humans or the environment.
Until we have conclusive results, consider some alternate methods of disposal. Before trying any of the following, make sure to remove all identifying information from the container.
1. Call your local garbage collection service and ask if they offer a drug take-back program.
2. Contact us about taking back unneeded or expired medications. We'll be happy to help you find a service provider.
3. If no other disposal options exist, add something to the medication to make it unusable: kitty litter to liquid medications, glue to pills, or a small amount of disinfectant to any medication. Leave the mixture in the original containers to reduce seepage. Then seal them in a sandwich bag and toss them in the garbage.
If we all do our part, we'll help protect our health and our environment.
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| No Smoke Screen
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Quitting smoking is hard.
To help smokers quit, the market is full of smoking-cessation drugs. Recently, the FDA required manufacturers of two such drugs, Chantix and Zyban, to include a boxed warning on their prescribing information. The warning highlights the risk of temporary changes in mental health while taking these drugs.
If you're trying to quit tobacco, talk to us about your options. There are many tested and trusted options available.
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| Simple Savings |
According to the World Health Organization, we would get more bang for our medical buck by using existing treatments fully than by developing new therapies.
How?
Many people take their medicine until they feel better, but they fail to complete their regimen. While symptoms may temporarily disappear, there's a good chance the condition or disease won't have been treated entirely.
A surviving disease may adapt to the original medication and grow resistant to future treatment. If we focused more attention on using our current medicines to their full potential we may not need to develop new alternatives.
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