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New education campaign aimed
at Seniors who abuse drugs

May 12, 2004 - Claiming two percent of people 55 and older that are admitted to hospitals abuse prescription narcotic medications, three government agencies have joined forces in a public education campaign to warn older Americans of the dangers of mixing certain prescription drugs or prescription medications and alcohol.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Administration on Aging (AoA), agencies under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), yesterday announced their campaign named “As You Age.”

HHS is also releasing an Older Americans Kit.  The kit provides useful information from various sources to help aging organizations, faith-based and community groups, policymakers, the media, and other groups educate older people and their caregivers about programs and services available to assist them, including information from SAMHSA on use of alcohol by some elderly to self-medicate anxiety or depression.

The “As You Age” brochure provides a medication checklist so that a person can keep track of the dose amount, intervals, and type of medication they need to take.  It also points to the dangers of consuming alcohol with a medication that might have adverse effect due to negative interactions.

“Sometimes older Americans are considered to have dementia when in reality they are mixing prescription medications or mixing medications with alcohol,” SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said. “SAMHSA is determined to get the warning out now before aging baby boomers mix needed prescription medications with alcohol or illegal drugs with dire results.”

"We want older adults to be aware that the increased use of medicine and normal body changes caused by aging can raise the chance of unwanted or maybe even harmful drug interactions," said Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Lester M. Crawford. "People should talk with their health care team about their medical condition, health concerns, and all the medicines, vitamins and supplements they take. The more you know about your medicines, the easier it is to avoid most problems."

The Older Americans Kit contains feature articles, informational vignettes, and fact sheets on a variety of topics including health promotion and disease, care giving, volunteerism, nutrition, transportation, and elder rights.  Each article, vignette and fact sheet provides information about programs and services available to assist older people and alerts people to where they can get more information.  Materials will be distributed to the media, older Americans’ trade publications and organizations and to consumer organizations including health care entities.

AoA’s Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina Carbonell stated that "this year’s theme, Aging Well, Living Well, was selected to celebrate older Americans who are living longer, healthier, and more productive lives.  The theme also gives us an excellent opportunity to highlight strategies and resources that can help older Americans succeed at aging and living well."

The Administration on Aging maintains collaborations with a national aging services network that includes 56 State Units on Aging, 655 Area Agencies on Aging, 244 Tribal organizations, over 29,000 local community service organizations, 500,000 volunteers, and a wide variety of national organizations. These materials will be distributed through the network as they strive to help older Americans reflect the Older Americans Month theme: Aging Well, Living Well.