A study from last September shows that abuse and overdoses are on the rise, especially for teens. However, another survey showed that many American parents are not worried about the abuse of pain pills by their teens. The survey was conducted by the University of Michigan and called Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. About 35 percent of parents were very concerned about the kids in their community abusing pain medicines. Only about 19 percent were very concerned about the kids in their own home abusing these drugs.
White parents showed the least amount of concern, although white teens are three times higher to abusce pain medicines than black or Hispanic teens. Parents were not in favor of stricter policies that could potentially reduce abuse of pain meds among teens. “Only 41 percent of parents said they favor a policy that would require a doctor’s visit to obtain a refill on these medicines, and about half do not favor a requirement that unused pain medicine be returned to a doctor or pharmacy.”
“Recent estimates are that one in four high school seniors have ever used a narcotic pain medicine. However, parents may downplay the risks of narcotic pain medicine because they are prescribed by a doctor,” Sarah Clark, associate director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Michigan and associate director of the National Poll on Children’s Health, said in a university news release.
“However, people who misuse narcotic pain medicine are often using drugs prescribed to themselves, a friend or a relative. That ‘safe’ prescription may serve as a readily accessible supply of potentially lethal drugs for children or teens. This is a national problem and a growing problem. The results of this poll are a signal that parents may not be aware of the significant rates of misuse of narcotic pain medicine, which highlights the tremendous challenge of addressing this national problem.”
Are you a parent of a teen? Do you worry about your child using and/or abusing prescription medications?
