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What Parents Need to Know and What They Can Do About It
Prescription medication abuse by teens and young adults is a serious problem in the United States. As reported in the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s annual tracking study:
- 1 in 5 teens has abused a prescription pain medication
- 1 in 10 report abusing prescription stimulants
- 1 in 10 has abused cough medicine
Many teens think these drugs are safe because they have legitimate uses, but taking them without a prescription to get high or “self-medicate” can be as dangerous – and addictive – as using street narcotics and other illicit drugs.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America is making sure that parents, young adults and teens know the very real risks of abusing medicine.
This fact sheet was developed to help parents understand the threat and provide them with tips for what to do about it.
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Cephalon, Inc. provides support to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America to distribute this fact sheet.
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