Today, more people are popping up the pills for minor discomforts rather than opting for natural treatments. When someone has a headache, they do not usually drink fluids or take a rest but reach out for pain killers. With the fast paced life people experience nowadays, they need a quick fix to all discomforts that may alter their way of life. However, are people being too dependent on medicines? Are these medicines doing our health good or harm?
Americans are not excluded in extensive dependent drug use. In fact, around 81% of adults use over-the-counter medicines for minor ailments. Over-the-counter drugs are deemed safe since they were approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. However, taking these pills still has risks.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that drug overdose has been increasing and this entails over-the-counter drugs. In 2012, drug overdose is the leading cause of injury. In fact, among people 25 to 64 years old, drug overdose caused more deaths than motor vehicle accidents.
Medical News Today cited that in a survey in 2010, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that from 1999 to 2009, the rate of prescriptions distributed in the United States has increased by 39%. Also, in 2014, CDC said that 48% of people use at least one prescription drug for the past 30 days.
Furthermore, since heart disease rates have increased in the past years and more people suffer from such condition, one of the most common prescribed medicines in the country are those used to treat heart diseases.
However, people who are mostly taking pills for various diseases know that lifestyle changes can make a big difference in their health. Yet, according to Dr. Ravi Hira, a cardiology researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas in a statement made for Medical News Today, "I think that it is probably easier for patients to pop a pill as opposed to changing their lifestyle, exercising and losing weight. These are difficult changes to make."
One of the most alarming data today, is the one related to drug overdose. CDC reports that 120 people die from drug overdose every day and around 6,748 are being treated in emergency departments due to abuse of drugs. Also, in 2013, 35,663 (81.1%) of the 43,982 drug overdose deaths in the United States were unintentional.
Most common abused drugs are opioids and benzodiazepines.