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Drugs In Our Water
Why are there drugs in our water?
Drugs most commonly enter the environment in two ways:
- Humans pass medicines and supplements through their system.
- Unwanted drugs are improperly disposed of in the toilet or trash.
What do you do with your old medicines? Roughly 54% of consumers dispose of their unused pharmaceuticals in the trash, and 35% flush them down the toilet (source). In the U.S. there are a lack of safe drug disposal programs, therefore most residents throw their unwanted medicines in the toilet or trash where they contaminate our waterways. The Teleosis Institute's Green Pharmacy Program aims to reduce the impact of medicine on our environment.
How do drugs affect our environment?
Varying concentrations of drugs have been found in nearly every water source in the U.S. and Canada. The EPA has compiled a growing body of evidence demonstrating how Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) affect aquatic life. Findings include: estrogens cause male fish to become female; antidepressants cause lobsters to be more aggressive; Prozac induces reproduction in shellfish.
For more information on PPCPs in our environment, please download our issue of Symbiosis, The Journal of Ecologically Sustianable Medicine on pharmaceutical pollution.
How does this affect human health?
The evidence for the direct consequences of PPCPs on humans is only beginning to be investigated. A landmark study in 2006 found that a mix of 13 common medications common to drinking water inhibits cell growth in human embryonic cells. This is one of the few studies that looks looks at how mixtures of prevalent medications can affect biological activity even at low concentrations. The affects on aquatic life suggest we take precaution and prevent pharmaceutical pollution from further damaging our environment.
Prescription drug use is on the rise!
Between 2000 through 2004, the number of pharmaceutical prescriptions increased 109% (source). On average, each American was given 10.9 prescriptions per year. This increasing reliance on pharmaceuticals suggests a growing number of unused drugs in households across the U.S.
Did you know 40% of medicines prescribed and purchased in the U.S. have never been used! In 2007, the elderly population alone will waste over $1 billion on unused drugs (source).
Nearly every home in America has a stockpile of unwanted medicines. What do you have in your medicine cabinet?
Why do drugs go unused?
- Drugs expire or are outdated
- Doctor discontinues drug
- Doctor orders new drug
- Patients feel better
- Adverse or allergic reaction
- Patient dies or moves away
- Patients stop taking it
- Doctors prescribe too many pills
Learn what you can do
Click here to visit our Actions page!
Want more information?
Click here to visit our Resources page!
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