[Pharmwaste] LA Supervisor Kuehl's Press release, Drug industry's disposal failure - Radio coverage

Heidi Sanborn Heidi at nsaction.us
Mon Oct 24 13:17:09 EDT 2016


Dear National Pharma Listserv:
Attached is the LA County letter to Pharma disapproving their plans to increase safe medicine and sharps disposal in response to the resolution the LA county supervisors adopted in June.  The second attachment is the press release from 10/19/16 by the pharma industry that they are disregarding the direction of the LA county supervisors and doing the campaign anyway and promoting all the government funded events like DEA take-back day and county sheriff locations.  Below is how LA Supervisor Chair Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl responded to the pharma press release.
The hearing on the EPR ordinance and an update on the efforts made by industry to date are scheduled for Nov. 1st, notably just before the election.  It should be an interesting hearing and will be televised so anyone can watch it live http://bos.lacounty.gov/Board-Meeting/Live-Broadcast .
Heidi

Heidi Sanborn | Executive Director
[cid:image001.jpg at 01D1964F.48328BF0]

C: (916) 402-3911 | heidi at nsaction.us<mailto:heidi at nsaction.us>


                     [cid:image002.jpg at 01D1964F.48328BF0] <https://www.facebook.com/nationalstewardshipactioncouncil>   [cid:image003.jpg at 01D1964F.48328BF0]   [cid:image004.jpg at 01D1964F.48328BF0] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-stewardship-action-council>
2 LA Supes criticize industry's drug take-back efforts
Paul Glickman<http://www.scpr.org/about/people/staff/paul-glickman>
October 19 2016
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
[81921 full]
Audio from this story  0:47 Listen <javascript:void(0);>
Share  Share via Share on Twitter<http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/10/19/65691/2-la-supes-criticize-industry-s-drug-take-back-eff/> Share on Facebook<http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/10/19/65691/2-la-supes-criticize-industry-s-drug-take-back-eff/>
Pharmaceutical trade groups Wednesday unveiled a public education campaign focused on how to dispose of expired medications and "sharps" in Los Angeles County, but two county supervisors criticized the effort, saying the industry failed to follow the Board of Supervisors' directions to increase the number of drug take-back events and locations.
The industry campaign consists of radio, newspaper, bus tail and billboard ads in English and Spanish. It directs people to the MyOldMedsLA.com <http://myoldmedsla.com/> website, which has information on all of the existing take-back events and dozens of drop-off locations around the county. The effort will run through the end of December, said a spokesman for one of the sponsors.
The trade groups said their research determined that 67 percent of county residents are unaware of where they can drop off old pills, needles, lancets and other medical "sharps." They launched the campaign Wednesday to call attention to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's "National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day" this Saturday.
Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis issued separate statements saying the effort falls short.
Calling the website "woefully inadequate," Kuehl said it "does not come remotely close to the kind of program the Board of Supervisors asked the industry to develop."
The Board voted in June to let the industry pursue a public education campaign<http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/06/14/61647/la-supes-set-aside-drug-take-back-proposal-for-now/>, rather than force it to design and pay for a comprehensive take-back program.
At the time, "we agreed to let the drug companies, at a minimum, show that they could act responsibly by sponsoring more take-back events in a greater number of locations," said Kuehl.
The June motion endorsed a working group's recommendation that the industry conduct quarterly take-back events in all five supervisorial districts and serve "a minimum of ten unincorporated area communities."
"Instead, the website presents a warmed-over hodgepodge of pre-existing resources and plans," Kuehl said. " In a County of 10 million people and 4,750 square miles, the website does not add a single access point! ... The drug industry has not demonstrated that they take the Board's instructions seriously."
Solis also criticized the trade groups for not hosting their own take-back events. In addition, she said "it is very disappointing" that they launched the outreach campaign "without going through the appropriate channels for approval."
According to the motion passed in June, the director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health must approve the education and outreach effort.
The supervisors' criticism "underplays and understates" what the pharmaceutical industry has accomplished, said Mike Tringale, spokesman for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. It's sponsoring the outreach campaign along with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association and two medical technology trade groups.
Tringale said the supervisors' June motion directed the industry to pursue a campaign consisting of three "pillars": an education campaign, measurement of public awareness and take-back events.
"We just did two of those three things," he said, adding that "we haven't quite figured out the third one yet."
Insisting that "we take the supervisors' motion extremely seriously," Tringale said the trade groups are negotiating with board members on how to "find the right model and role for us to fill their need for additional capacity."
The trade associations are not legally allowed to directly host take-back events, so they are trying to find DEA-approved partners, he said, noting that talks are ongoing with local law enforcement agencies and retailers.
"This is not a simple endeavor," said Tringale. "It's going to take time."
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/10/19/65691/2-la-supes-criticize-industry-s-drug-take-back-eff/

From: Supervisor Sheila Kuehl [mailto:bosborn=bos.lacounty.gov at mail109.suw11.mcdlv.net] On Behalf Of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 2:08 PM
To: Osborn, Barbara
Subject: Drug industry's disposal failure



[https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d22359d63358c3f038e22cdd9/images/ebb31f69-a54c-462b-b8ab-3ed98cf9f6c2.jpg]<http://supervisorkuehl.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d22359d63358c3f038e22cdd9&id=fafb964ec5&e=1e89f8db68>





For Immediate Release:
Contact: Barbara Osborn, Communications Director
(323) 683-1160 -- bosborn at bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:bosborn at bos.lacounty.gov>



SUPERVISOR SHEILA KUEHL RELEASES STATEMENT
REGARDING INDUSTRY'S FAILURE TO DEVELOP
SERIOUS SOLUTIONS TO DRUG DISPOSAL


Supervisor Sheila Kuehl issued the following statement regarding the drug industry's new website (www.MyOldMedsLA.com<http://supervisorkuehl.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d22359d63358c3f038e22cdd9&id=889aae1232&e=1e89f8db68>) which was launched today:

The industry's new website, which purports to help our residents dispose of their unused drugs and used sharps, is a woefully inadequate solution to the very serious problem of unused prescription and over-the-counter medication disposal.

It does not come remotely close to the kind of program the Board of Supervisors asked the industry to develop. Before adopting our own rules, we agreed to let the drug companies, at a minimum, show that they could act responsibly by sponsoring more take-back events in a greater number of locations. Instead, the website presents a warmed-over hodgepodge of pre-existing resources and plans.  In a County of 10 million people and 4,750 square miles, the website does not add a single access point! This does not reflect any kind of serious commitment to medication and sharps disposal.

If we want people to change their behavior and dispose of medications safely, we need to make it easy for them. Instead, the industry is suggesting that consumers go online, sift through dozens of resources, identify a location, and travel miles to dispose of old medicine.

The drug industry has not demonstrated that they take the Board's instructions seriously. They must take responsibility for the drugs they produce and from which they greatly profit. Without convenient disposal, medication will end up in our water supply and oceans, and syringes will wash up on our beaches. The health and safety of our residents and our environment are at stake.



###






[Facebook]<http://supervisorkuehl.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d22359d63358c3f038e22cdd9&id=aa20bcfca7&e=1e89f8db68>



[Twitter]<http://supervisorkuehl.us9.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=d22359d63358c3f038e22cdd9&id=292c1d52fd&e=1e89f8db68>








Copyright (c) 2016 Third District, All rights reserved.
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl

Our mailing address is:

Third District

500 W Temple St.

Suite 821

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Add us to your address book<http://supervisorkuehl.us9.list-manage.com/vcard?u=d22359d63358c3f038e22cdd9&id=a5c409cadd>


unsubscribe from this list<http://supervisorkuehl.us9.list-manage2.com/unsubscribe?u=d22359d63358c3f038e22cdd9&id=a5c409cadd&e=1e89f8db68&c=5a41b9cd57>    update subscription preferences<http://supervisorkuehl.us9.list-manage.com/profile?u=d22359d63358c3f038e22cdd9&id=a5c409cadd&e=1e89f8db68>







-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image007.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6163 bytes
Desc: image007.jpg
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0005.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image008.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1019 bytes
Desc: image008.jpg
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image009.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 973 bytes
Desc: image009.jpg
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image010.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 972 bytes
Desc: image010.jpg
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0008.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 17876 bytes
Desc: image002.jpg
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0009.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: LA County Industry Ltr - Evaluation of Plans disapproval September 2016.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 857503 bytes
Desc: LA County Industry Ltr - Evaluation of Plans disapproval September 2016.pdf
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0003.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Release_MyOldMedsLA - Final wLogos 10-19-16.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 274160 bytes
Desc: Release_MyOldMedsLA - Final wLogos 10-19-16.pdf
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0004.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: MOMLA Campaign Art and Research Slide.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 1259499 bytes
Desc: MOMLA Campaign Art and Research Slide.pdf
URL: <http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20161024/ae445c68/attachment-0005.pdf>


More information about the Pharmwaste mailing list