Drug disposal
[3] Proper waste management system including distribution, control, and disposal not only helps the Healthcare Centres but also promote environmental health.
According to Poison Control Centers in the United States, in 2007 approximately 23,783 of 255,732 cases involving inappropriate medication use were associated with inadvertent exposure.
[1] Experts advise checking other options first because simply discarding drugs with other trash creates the possibility that someone could use them and be harmed.
[1] There have been many attempts in the United States to encourage consumers to bring their leftover drugs to disposal centers.
[12] One study reviewing the efficacy of these programs found that their impact was too low to have the desired result of decreasing community access to leftover drugs.
[15] One small regional study in the United States reported the outcomes of a public health program to take back unused opioids.
These medications contain controlled substances that are dangerous to pets and other people in the home and should be disposed of immediately when no longer needed.
Examples include Dilaudid (hydromorphone hydrochloride) tablets, fentanyl patches and morphine sulfate oral solution.
[17] In 2016, a Harvard University study found unsafe levels of poly-fluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) (industrial chemicals associated with cancer, hormone malfunction, and several health problems) in the drinking water of 6 million Americans.
[22] Canada has no specific nationwide drug take back or disposal policy, but most provinces have individual plans.
[25] Unused or Expired medications are stored in the households and disposed of in the trash or flushed into the toilets among the Asian countries such as Malaysia, Bangladesh, Thailand.
[26][27] In the United States, used prescriptions are serious safety concerns because they can be accidentally ingested, overdosed or diverted for illegal use.
To address these concerns, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) created the National Take Back Initiative.
[29] In April 2021, the program reported the collection of 420 short tons (380,000 kg) of drugs at 5,060 sites around the country.
The law provides the DEA with the option to develop a permanent process for people to safely and conveniently dispose of their prescription drugs.
President Barack Obama signed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, and the DEA immediately began installing regulations for a more permanent solution.
[32] With these statistics, Congress decided to take an active role in trying to make drug take-back programs more readily available.
This ordinance required companies that manufacture drugs sold and distributed in Alameda County must operate and pay for a "Product Stewardship Program.
[39] The pharmacies must also follow protocols like accepting prescription drugs to be sent back to an authorized DEA destruction site and no employee can be part of the program if they have a history with controlled substance-related felonies.
[40] Similar to the Alameda County Ordinance, this is a statewide drug and needle program funded by manufacturers or distributors.
