US govt campaign against Rx drug abuse

The US federal administration has launched a $14.0 million advertising campaign warning of the dangers of the abuse by teenagers of prescription drugs. The nationwide effort was launched with a 30-second television advertisement during the Super Bowl, which is the most expensive advertising slot available, but reaches an estimated 140 million people in the USA, nearly half the population.

The issue of prescription drug abuse has previously been the subject of local campaigns at the state level, where attempts have been made to improve communications between pharmacies, health authorities and law-enforcement agencies (Marketletters passim). There have also been a number of high-profile cases, such as the arrest in July last year of the son of former US Vice President Al Gore, for the alleged possession of antidepressants and a medicine for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's Director, John Walters, said that the three most commonly-abused categories of prescription drugs are painkillers, antidepressants and stimulants. He also noted that the practice is more widespread than any narcotic drug, other than marijuana.