MEDICINE CABINET
Crush or Flush?
The medicine cabinets of heart patients can quickly fill up with
prescription drugs. What’s the safest way to get rid of old ones?
BY Martha Miller Johnson
WHEN ADRIENNE J. TISSIER’S FATHER
died in 2004, he had a cabinet full of
powerful prescription drugs. She wanted to
dispose of them properly but was shocked to
find out that no place in San Mateo County,
California, collected them. As a newly
elected county supervisor, she set out to
change that. Today, 16 sites across the county
accept unwanted prescription drugs.
“We have places where people can
dispose of motor oil, old batteries, and even
fluorescent light bulbs, but where can you
take old pharmaceuticals?” says Bill Chiang,
Tissier’s legislative aide who helped set
up the collection sites.
Safely disposing of old drugs has become
a social and environmental concern in
the United States. Teenagers and adults
are misusing prescription drugs in record
numbers, accidental exposure to medicine
is a major source of poisonings, and trace
amounts of drugs are being found in the
water supply and landfills.
Beat Stronger. Live Longer.
Measuring risk
The Food and Drug Administration says
almost all medicines can be put in the
trash after mixing them with something
unpalatable, such as co;ee grounds, and
sealing them in a container. But the FDA
18
FYI
For a complete list of the 26 prescription drugs the FDA recommends flushing instead of
tossing in the garbage, visit fda.gov and type “flushing drugs” in the search tool.
