Webcast for Patients on Safe Use of Opioids: When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs

View the Archived Webcast at http://www.goodmedicinesbaddrugs.com/

When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs^SM is a web-based educational panel discussion with leading pain management experts, and moderated by General Barry R. McCaffrey, former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

On October 21, General McCaffrey led the "When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs" panelists through a robust and insightful discussion about the safe and appropriate use of prescription opioid pain medicines. You can still benefit from this information by visiting an archive of the webcast available on the website, www.goodmedicinesbaddrugs.com.

This free Cephalon, Inc., webcast focused on helping patients, caregivers and the public understand that they too have a responsibility in ensuring that prescription opioids are used appropriately. By providing practical tips for safeguarding their medications in the home, patients and caregivers were encouraged to take an active role in preventing abuse and diversion of prescription opioid pain medications.

Did you know...

1. An estimated 15 percent of adults suffer with pain that lasts more than three months; for many, prescription pain medicines are an important part of their treatment (2006 National Center for Health Statistics)
2. When these good medicines get in the hands of those without a prescription, they can be as dangerous as street drugs (Food and Drug Administration: Consumer Health Information)
3. Seven million Americans abuse prescription medicines—that’s an 80 percent increase from 2000 to 2006 and is more than the total abuse of cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and inhalants combined (Drug Enforcement Administration: Prescription Drug Abuse Fact Sheet)
4. Opioid pain relievers, such as morphine, oxycodone or fentanyl, are the most commonly abused prescription medicines; 71 percent of people abusing these medicines received them from a friend or family member without a prescription (2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)

View the Archived Webcast at http://www.goodmedicinesbaddrugs.com/

"When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs" is a service mark of Cephalon, Inc. or its affiliates.