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GPhA Continues Support of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. (OCT. 28, 2011) – The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) today reaffirmed its ongoing support for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011.

The DEA program, which will take place with the cooperation of nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide, collects expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs that can be a potentially dangerous source of diversion if left in the family’s medicine cabinet. More than 309 tons of pills were turned in at collection sites across the U.S. during the first two National Prescription Take Back Days.

GPhA has been a consistent participant and financial supporter of several organizations working to educate citizens about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. The Association’s support for the DEA program is part of its ongoing commitment to work with all stakeholders — including doctors, parents, lawmakers, law enforcement and industry — to put a stop to the growing problem of prescription drug diversion in the United States.

According to the 2009 National Study of Drug Use and Health, the problem of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. today primarily stems not from drugs that have escaped the legitimate supply chain or been obtained illegally through the black market, but instead from those that were legally prescribed and available in the home.

“With recent studies showing that as many as 70 percent of people abusing prescription drugs were doing so with products they obtained from a friend or relative, it is imperative that we act now to ensure that these medications are not falling into the wrong hands,” GPhA President and CEO Ralph G. Neas said. “The DEA’s National Prescription Take Back Day is an excellent example of the multi-stakeholder collaboration that is needed to tackle this problem.”

GPhA represents the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceuticals, manufacturers and distributors of bulk pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic industry. Generic pharmaceuticals fill 78 percent of the prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but consume just 25 percent of the total drug spending. Additional information is available at gphaonline.org.

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