The Food and Drug Administration is looking to women aged 35-64 to “Remove the Risk” of opioids in the household.
The program targets these women because they are the most likely to oversee their household’s health care decisions and opioid use. When used as prescribed, opioids are powerful medications used to treat pain. However, the U.S. has seen an uptick in opioid abuse, overdose, and death in recent years.
“The epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose is one of the greatest public health tragedies we’re facing as a nation, and no community is immune,” said Amy Abernethy, principal deputy commissioner at the FDA. “We know that many people who misuse prescription opioids report getting them from a friend or family member. If every household removed prescription opioids once they’re no longer medically needed for their prescribed purpose it would have a major impact on the opioid crisis’ hold on American families and communities.”
Many people who are prescribed these medications do not finish them, which opens the possibility that others in the home will take the medications. According to the FDA, 47,600 people died of an opioid overdose in 2017.
People with opioids they no longer need can safely dispose of the medicines at authorized locations in pharmacies, hospitals and law enforcement locations.
