WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The '18th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day' will be held on October 26, 2019. This semi-annual event, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Agency, aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
On this day, one can dispose of the unused or expired prescription drugs at home, including opioids, between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time, at the temporary collection sites set up in local cities throughout the nation. Opioids and other medicines are vulnerable to misuse, theft or abuse by family members and visitors, including children and teens.
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back events have been hosted since 2010.
At the 17th Take-Back Day held in April 2019, there were 6,250 collection sites across the nation, and the collected unwanted or expired medications weighed 937,443 pounds (468.72 tons). The total weight of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications collected by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) since 2010 is 11 million pounds (over 5,400 tons).
For the first time, on this National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, the DEA will accept vaping devices and cartridges also at any of its drop off locations. It should be noted that the vape pens or other e-cigarette devices will be accepted for disposal from individual consumers only after the batteries are removed from the devices.
Of late, e-cigarettes have been linked to severe lung disease, and as of October 15, 2019, 1,479 lung injury cases associated with the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products have been reported from 49 states (all except Alaska), the District of Columbia, and 1 U.S. territory, with thirty-three deaths being confirmed in 24 states, according to the CDC.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
