[Pharmwaste] The least mentioned benifit of take back

[Margaret Shield]

With messaging, there's how we say it and also how it's heard and
remembered. And frustrating that those 2 things are not always the same :)

In the how we say it category, preventing poisonings has always been part of
the key messaging for safe drug take-back in our work in Washington State,
but perhaps not remembered as clearly.  The triad has been preventing
medicine abuse and addiction, preventing poisonings, and preventing waste
medicines from adding to pharmaceutical pollution.

 

Our state poison center was an early partner, and provides valuable data
each year on how many poisonings are caused by medicines in the home.
Prescription and OTC drugs are always in the Top Ten lists of poisoning
agents, especially for kids and seniors.

More recently, we received amazing support for expanding drug take-back from
suicide prevention groups, like Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention
at the University of Washington. Medications and guns are the most commonly
used in suicides and suicide attempts. Drug take-back events take on new
meanings when promoted by families who lost loved ones to suicide.

 

Our 2018 messaging, which emphasizes health and public safety is shown on
this handout about the WA Secure Drug Take-Back Act that passed in 2018
(finally!). Our emphasis on health and public safety as those concerned
about pharmaceutical pollution were already supporting the legislation.

https://www.cehstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/WASecureDrugTakeBac
kAct_Handout.pdf

 

Margaret Shield, PhD

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Community Environmental Health Strategies, LLC

margaret.shield at CEHstrategies.com <mailto:margaret.shield at CEHstrategies.com>


mobile:  206-499-5452

www.CEHstrategies.com <http://www.cehstrategies.com/>  

 

From: Pharmwaste <pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us> On Behalf Of Ed
Gottlieb
Sent: Thursday, May 2, 2019 10:20 AM
To: Volkman, Jennifer (MPCA) <jennifer.volkman at state.mn.us>;
pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: Re: [Pharmwaste] The least mentioned benifit of take back

 

Jennifer,  

 

Thanks for the reminder that "reducing confusion" is a more imaginable way
to describe the cause of many accidental poisonings!

 

Ed Gottlieb 
Chair, Tompkins County Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal
Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator
Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
525 3rd Street
Ithaca, NY  14850
(607) 273-8381 <tel:(607)%20273-8381> 

 

  _____  

From: Volkman, Jennifer (MPCA) [jennifer.volkman at state.mn.us]
Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2019 11:02 AM
To: Ed Gottlieb; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
<mailto:pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us> 
Subject: RE: The least mentioned benifit of take back

Reducing medication confusion is the other reason I generally present.
That's the primary reason Australia set up their collection system well
before any opioid crisis. 

 

From: Pharmwaste <pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
<mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us> > On Behalf Of Ed Gottlieb
Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2019 2:58 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
<mailto:pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us> 
Subject: [Pharmwaste] The least mentioned benifit of take back

 

The fight against the opioid epidemic is always cited when take back is
discussed.

Environmental contamination is often highlighted when take back is
discussed.

Poisonings are only occasionally mentioned when discussing take back.

 

STAT reported on a disturbing new study that should inspire more of us to
mention reducing poisonings as an additional benefit of take back.  Though
the abstract did not specify what percent of poisonings were from
pharmaceuticals, other studies have shown pharmaceuticals are the most
common cause.     

"More teenagers are poisoning themselves in suicide attempts.  There was a
more than twofold increase in the rate of suspected self-poisoning suicide
cases between 2011 and 2018, according to a
<https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatnews.
us11.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df8609630ae206654824f897b6%26id%3D
b1fb78a686%26e%3D61b58803fc&data=02%7C01%7Cjennifer.volkman%40state.mn.us%7C
3fc5fe82035047d46ba808d6ce6f6abd%7Ceb14b04624c445198f26b89c2159828c%7C0%7C0%
7C636923375258127931&sdata=InfZbsqQeOfJk7HcAQyTL2ABtD8VlLEjSVZe%2BKeFJLg%3D&
reserved=0> new study that looked at more than 1.6 million such cases.
Here's what else you need to know: 

*  Overall trends: Cases of suicide attempts by self-poisoning doubled in
those aged 10-18 between 2011 and 2018, rising from around 39,000 to more
than 78,000.

*  Gender: More girls than boys attempted suicide by self-poisoning. The
rate of intentional attempts among girls 10-18 also steadily increased from
2011-2018.

*	Outcomes: The number of serious outcomes - including death and
hospitalizations - as a result of the poisoning increased 235% between 2000
and 2018, and more than 1,400 children died. "

https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(19)30277-X/fulltext?utm_source=STAT
+Newsletters
<https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpeds
.com%2Farticle%2FS0022-3476(19)30277-X%2Ffulltext%3Futm_source%3DSTAT%2BNews
letters%26utm_campaign%3D99b9312718-MR_COPY_01%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_te
rm%3D0_8cab1d7961-99b9312718-149620549&data=02%7C01%7Cjennifer.volkman%40sta
te.mn.us%7C3fc5fe82035047d46ba808d6ce6f6abd%7Ceb14b04624c445198f26b89c215982
8c%7C0%7C0%7C636923375258137935&sdata=ZDLHmuZGvsB%2F2pHKl0N6B7zwhRNSWRB%2FiI
mYO8QeIT8%3D&reserved=0>
&utm_campaign=99b9312718-MR_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8cab1d7961-9
9b9312718-149620549

Ed Gottlieb

Chair, Tompkins County Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal
Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator
Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
525 3rd Street
Ithaca, NY  14850
(607) 273-8381 <tel:(607)%20273-8381> 

 

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