Parents Say, "I'm Not Concerned About My Kids Abusing Prescription Drugs"

"Many American parents are not very concerned about the misuse of narcotic pain medicines by children and teens, despite the fact that rates of abuse and overdoses involving these drugs are rising in all age groups, a new survey finds."

("Parents Not Too Worried About Kids' Use of Pain Meds: Poll,"

Results of the University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital

National Poll on Children's Health, HealthDay News, January 26 2013)

The survey, conducted in September 2012, included over 1,300 parents with children aged 5 to 17. Among the participants, the investigators found that only 35 percent of parents were very concerned about the misuse of narcotic pain medicines by children and teens in their communities, and only 19 percent were very concerned about the misuse of these medicines in their own families.


Consider the reality:

• Drug overdose deaths attributed to opioid pain medicines such as Vicodin or Oxycontin exceed overdose deaths from heroin and cocaine combined, according to national data. In 2008, 36,450 people died from drug overdoses in the United States, and 20,044 of those were due to prescription drug overdose. Opioid pain relievers were involved in 14,800 of those 20,044
  
• (Center for Disease Control, 2011)

 

• 12.3 percent of the high school students said they had used opioids for non-medical reasons
  
• (Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2009)




• Parents often downplay the risks of narcotic pain medicine because they are prescribed by a doctor
  
• (University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, 2012)



• Overall substance abuse remains in steady decline among teens, but research consistently shows that kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home, are up to 50 percent less likely to use than those who do not. Yet, only 37 percent of teens report that they are getting this message from their parents
• (Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2007)

 

• Black parents (38 percent) and Hispanic parents (26 percent) were more likely than white parents (13 percent) to be very concerned about the misuse of narcotic pain medicines in their own families
  
• (University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, 2012)



• Use of the narcotic pain medicines has been shown to be three times higher among white teens than black or Hispanic teens
  
• (University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, 2012)

 

• Popular culture does not give a realistic picture of the risks involved with youth substance abuse
  
• (University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, 2012)



• Almost 25 percent of Ohio high school students admitted offering, selling or having been given an illegal drug on school property
  
• (Online youth risk survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011)

 

• The number of teens who abuse prescription drugs has nearly tripled since 1992
  
• (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2005)

 

• 61 percent of teens agree that prescription drugs are easier to get than illegal drugs
  
• (PATS Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2008)




• Three out of 10 teens believe that prescription pain relievers are not addictive.
  
• (PATS, 2006)

 

• Five out of the six most frequently abused drugs among high school seniors are prescription medications (Monitoring the Future Survey), and prescription medications are the number-one most frequently abused drugs among 12- to 13-year-olds (National Survey on Drug Use and Health)



• As many as 40 percent of teens don’t perceive any major risk with trying heroin once or twice. Almost 19 percent of teens don’t perceive any great risk in trying heroin once or twice a week
• (SAMSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2006)



• 41 percent of teens mistakenly believe that the misuse of medicines is less dangerous than the abuse of illegal street drugs 
• (Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2008)



• 40 percent of teens report being aware they have a family member with a drug or alcohol problem   
• (Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2008)



• One in ten teens (10 percent or 2.5 million) reports having abused a prescription pain reliever in the past year
• (Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2008)



• The leading motives for teens using prescription pain relievers were to relax or relieve tension (56.4 percent), to feel good or get high (53.5 percent), to experiment (52.4 percent), to relieve physical pain (44.8 percent) or to have a good time with friends (29.5 percent)
• (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2009)

"This is a national problem and a growing problem. The results of this poll are a signal that parents may not be aware of the significant rates of misuse of narcotic pain medicine, which highlights the tremendous challenge of addressing this national problem," said Sarah J. Clark, M.P.H., Associate Director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit at the University of Michigan and Associate Director of the National Poll on Children's Health.
In fact, By learning what parents should know about opiate use, you can hopefully prevent your teen from abusing and becoming addicted to opiates.


See the Medical Express article: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-parents-numb-misuse-narcotic-pain.html


See the Health Canal article: http://www.healthcanal.com/substance-abuse/35562-Parents-numb-misuse-narcotic-pain-meds-youth-new-poll-shows.html


Video: http://youtu.be/c8cXRIEmkTk

Parents, Please Understand the Risks

Your Children Face In This Drug Culture

And Educate Them With Real,

Life-saving Information!