Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaw collected 620 tons of expired meds in 2015

 

 

TORONTO - Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw Companies, in collaboration with the Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada, collected 620 tons of expired prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicine during their third National Medicine Take-Back Campaign, the companies reported Thursday.

 

Each year, the campaign encourages Canadians to clean out their medicine cabinet of expired drugs and drop them off at any one of the 1,800 pharmacies participating nationwide. The campaign ran from July to December 2015 and set a record amount for collection. The record was previously set by the 2014 campaign which saw 390 tons of expired drugs dropped off at Shoppers Drug Mart locations.

 

This year's campaign theme, "Keep Your Drugs off the Streets," describes the reality of the misuse of prescription drugs and OTC medicine by teenagers. This initiative will help keep these medications out of the hands of youth and promote awareness and best practices of medication use and disposal. 

 

"I want to thank the thousands of Canadians who answered the call and returned their unused and expired medications to Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw Pharmacies for safe and environmentally-friendly disposal," said Mike Motz, president of Shoppers Drug Mart. "As part of our commitment to promoting safe medicine use and children's health, we are proud to work with the Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada."

 

Awareness is essential in altering teenagers' perception of prescription and OTC drug experimentation. As many as 61% of parents exposed to the campaign said they had spoken specifically to their kids about the risk of misusing prescription drugs to get high, compared to 42% of parents who hadn't been exposed to the campaign. As a result – overall, 61% of kids believe misusing prescription drugs to get high is a very risky practice.

 

"The devastating effects of addiction to prescription drugs are being felt by many families and communities in every region of the country," said Marc Paris, executive director Partnership for a Drug Free. "By taking unused prescription drugs back to your local pharmacy, you are eliminating a key source of access for many Canadian youth. Working together, we can help reduce the abuse of these substances and encourage all Canadians to lead healthier, drug-free lives."