Over 260 Households Participated in Medicine Clean Out 2002

People take medications to relieve a variety of ailments. Those same medications can cause injury or even death when taken at the wrong time or by the wrong person. Misuse of medications affects everyone. Not only are they responsible for almost all cases of poisoning hospitalizations among children less than 10 years of age, (National Trauma Registry Bulletin- April 2002) they are also the cause of 25% of hospital admissions for the elderly and 23% of all nursing home admissions as well. (Ontario Drug Awareness Partnership, September 10, 2002). For Drug Awareness Week 2002, the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, as part of the Eastern Region Injury Network (ERIN), joined forces with local pharmacies and physicians to encourage the safe use and disposal of medicines.


The group's "Medicine Clean Out" campaign had three main messages:

1. Return out-dated, expired and no-longer-required medicines to your local pharmacy for proper disposal.
   
   
2. Medicines are hazardous wastes - don't throw them in the garbage and don't flush them.
   
   
3. Medicines can lead to injury. Protect your household by keeping medicines locked and away from children.

This 2-week campaign was delivered by 21 pharmacies across the Tri-County and was promoted through newspaper ads in our local papers, as well as posters that were mailed out to physician's offices. Overall, approximately 265 bags of old medications were collected from our community. Each bag returned during this campaign signifies the reduced potential for injuries to everyone, especially our children, seniors, and environment. This year’s campaign was promoted to last throughout the entire month of November with 25 pharmacies participating.