GOVERNEUR, N.Y. – Kinney Drugs is marking National Poison Prevention Week (March 17-21) by reminding the public that poisoning remains the leading cause of injury-related death in the U.S. Every year, more people die of poisoning than gun- or car-related injuries. In 2023, more than two million poisonings were reported to the National Poison Data System, and about 80% were unintentional.
The most common were drug overdoses, followed by poisonings from household products, cosmetics, and personal care products. Frequent causes of unintentional drug overdoses include accidentally taking a medication twice or taking doses too close together, taking the wrong medication or taking someone else’s medication, or dosing errors such as reading the units of measure wrong for a liquid medication. Other poisonings occur due to drug interactions and taking more than one product with the same ingredient.
“It’s important to talk to your pharmacist about how to take your medications, especially if you are prescribed something new, if you fill prescriptions at multiple pharmacies, and/or if you regularly take several medications,” said Shannon Miller, senior director of Healthcare Operations. “In addition, tell your pharmacist about any over-the-counter medications you’re taking to help prevent any adverse interactions. If you take several medications, we also recommend using a pill minder to help ensure that you don’t accidentally take something twice,” she said.
Miller noted that in 2023, approximately 75% of overdose deaths involve opioids. Roughly 70% of opioid dependence, overdoses, and deaths begin with leftover drugs in the medicine cabinet; therefore, Pharmacists recommend keeping NARCAN on hand. But opioids are just one type of dangerous drug. Antidepressants, muscle-relaxers, ADHD medications, sleep aids, blood pressure, and heart medications may also be very harmful – even deadly. "Kinney pharmacists strongly recommend that families regularly clean out their medicine cabinets and dispose of expired medications, prescriptions that are more than a year old, and anything no longer in its original container that cannot be identified."
Miller added that it is very important not to throw medications in the garbage or flush them down the toilet, as both methods pose potential environmental, safety, and health hazards. Instead, people can dispose of them in the medication collection kiosks at all Kinney pharmacies during regular pharmacy hours. People do not have to get their prescriptions at Kinney to use the kiosks, which are completely free, anonymous, and safe. (Kiosks cannot accept needles or sharps, illegal substances, or personal care or household products.)
“It is crucial to dispose of medications properly to prevent diversion into the wrong hands or the environment. As a pharmacy, Kinney Drugs is dedicated to keeping people healthy, and our kiosks provide an easy, convenient way to safely dispose of unwanted medications. As a pharmacist and father, I wholeheartedly support doing everything we can to help keep everyone – especially children – safe from harm,” said John Marraffa, president.
