http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=6981845

Prescription Drug Use at Record High for Americans
Thu Dec 2, 2004 02:49 PM ET

By Paul Simao
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Americans, long considered one of the most
medicated peoples in the world, are swallowing more pills than ever,
according to a report released on Thursday by the U.S. government.

A total of 44 percent of Americans had taken at least one prescription
drug in the prior month when surveyed in 1999 and 2000, compared to 39
percent during the 1988-1994 period, according to the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services.

One in six adults was taking three or more of these drugs at the end of
the decade, compared to about one in 10 in the late 1980s and early
1990s.

The popularity of antidepressants, anti-inflammatories and drugs
designed to control cholesterol and blood sugar levels helped fuel
increased prescription use among all adult age groups, the HHS said in
its annual report on Americans' health.

"Americans are taking medicines that lower cholesterol and reduce the
threat of heart disease, that help lift people out of debilitating
depressions and that keep diabetes in check," HHS Secretary Tommy
Thompson said.

In the case of antidepressants, one of the most common types of drugs
handed out by doctors, prescription use among adults nearly tripled
between the 1988-1994 and 1999-2000 periods. Ten percent of adult women
and 4 percent of men now take these drugs.

Although prescription drugs can dramatically improve the lives of
patients suffering from often life-threatening diseases, they also have
potentially serious side-effects when misused or prescribed recklessly.

The report was released amid growing concerns about the safety of
prescription drugs in America. Pharmaceutical giant Merck withdrew its
blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx from the market in September after a
study showed it doubled the risk of heart of heart attack and stroke.

A recent analysis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for
instance, suggested a link between some antidepressants and suicidal
thoughts and behaviors in children and teenagers.

There are also fears in public health circles that the growing tendency
of Americans, especially seniors, to have more than one prescription in
their medicine cabinet could lead to a surge in drug interactions.

Almost half of those 65 years and older take three or more prescription
medicines, according to the HHS report.

The nation's growing reliance on medications carries a hefty price tag
and ranks as the fastest growing part of the $1.6 trillion spent on
health care in the United States in 2002. Drug expenditures have risen
at least 15 percent each year since 1998.

The federal government also reported on Thursday that life expectancy
at birth rose to 77.3 years in 2002 from 77.2 in 2001, while deaths
from heart disease, cancer and stroke -- the three biggest killers --
fell between 1 percent and 3 percent.

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Since I went low carb about four years ago I haven't needed one single
prescription drug. Haven't even had a cold in all that time.

TC