EDITOR:

Like the Escanaba-area Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse, which was quoted in your Feb. 3 story "Number of drug overdoses rises," America's biopharmaceutical research companies are committed to helping stop prescription drug abuse.

The industry's national trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), co-sponsors a program with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and American Pharmacists Association (APhA) for safe and easy disposal of unwanted, left over drugs.

Studies show that drugs sitting in bathroom medicine cabinets at home are often the ones that are misused and abused.

PhRMA, FWS and APhA sponsor the SMARxT Disposal Program, which offers a number of easy steps for disposing of unwanted prescription drugs in household trash. The steps are spelled out on the Web site www.smarxtdisposal.net.

PhRMA has also supported efforts by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the American Medical Chest Challenge (AMCC) to collect unused drugs that could be abused for disposal. Last Sept. 25, the DEA spearheaded National Take Back Day, which allowed patients to drop off expired and unwanted prescription drugs at designated sites nationwide.

Last November, PhRMA also supported a similar one-day national pharmaceutical safe disposal effort sponsored by AMCC. Getting rid of unused prescription drugs still sitting in medicine cabinets at home is a truly effective way to help avoid prescription drug abuse.

Sharon Brigner

PhRMA