Medicine Take-Back Campaign under way in Canada

Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) and the Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada (PDFC) are collaborating on the third National Medicine Take-Back Campaign, to be held through December 2015, and a new partnership with Loblaw Pharmacy will increase the number of pharmacies participating in the campaign to 1,800 n

, and CDR

August 10, 2015 . 7:14 AM

1 min read

TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) and the Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada (PDFC) are collaborating on the third National Medicine Take-Back Campaign, to be held through December 2015, and a new partnership with Loblaw Pharmacy will increase the number of pharmacies participating in the campaign to 1,800 nationwide.

The goal of the National Medicine Take-Back Campaign is to encourage Canadians to clean out their households of unused and expired prescription drugs as well as over-the-counter medicine, and to drop them off at their local pharmacy.

This year’s campaign theme, “Keep Your Drugs Off the Streets,” is supported by compelling advertising that is aimed at raising parents’ awareness of the dangers of misuse of prescription drugs and O-T-C medicine by teenagers. The campaign also aims to ensure safe use of medicine and to promote environment-friendly drug disposal.

By working together, PDFC, SDM and Loblaw Pharmacy are promoting best practices and helping to change behaviors in Canadians’ day-to-day lives when it comes to medicine use, conservation and disposal.

Last year, the campaign by PDFC and SDM resulted in Canadians dropping off a record amount of unused and expired drugs at their local pharmacy.

In 2014, 390 tons of medicine were recuperated at SDM — over two times the amount collected in the previous year.

“I want to thank the thousands of Canadians who answered the call and returned their unused and expired medications to Shoppers Drug Mart for safe and environmentally friendly disposal,” said president Mike Motz. “As part of our commitment to promoting safe medicine use, Shoppers Drug Mart is proud to work with the Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada.”

A study that was commissioned by the PDFC noted an evolution in Canadians’ attitude toward drugs. Two-thirds of parents who were exposed to the campaign said they had spoken specifically to their children about the risk of misusing prescription drugs to get high, compared with 40% of parents who hadn’t been exposed to the campaign.