CVS Caremark Offers Advice on Proper Management, Storage and Disposal of Medications in Light of New Study on Teen Abuse of Prescription Drugs

WOONSOCKET, R.I., April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With National Drug Take Back Day scheduled for Saturday, April 27 and in light of a new national study revealing that one in four teenagers has misused or abused a prescription medication at least once, CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) is reminding families that proper management, storage and disposal of their medication can reduce access to drugs by young people in their homes.

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Earlier this week, The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation released new, nationally projectable survey results confirming that one-quarter of teens in the U.S. have improperly used prescription drugs, a 33% increase over the past five years.  Full results of The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) are available here.

Last year, The Partnership at Drugfree.org launched the Medicine Abuse Project, a multi-year initiative with the goal of preventing a half million teenagers from abusing prescription medication by the year 2017. CVS Caremark is a Gold-level sponsor of the Medicine Abuse Project.

"The statistics on teen misuse and abuse in PATS survey are startling and illustrate why we joined the Partnership at Drugfree.org last year," said Papatya Tankut, RPh, Vice President of Pharmacy Affairs at CVS Caremark.  "In addition to assisting with the Partnership's efforts to educate parents, caregivers and communities about the dangers of medication abuse by young people, CVS Caremark can help patients properly manage and dispose of their medications to reduce incidences of teen misuse and abuse."  

All CVS/pharmacy^® locations throughout the U.S. participate in the Sharps Compliance Takeaway Environmental Return program, which provides customers with the ability to safely dispose of their unused, expired or unwanted drugs using affordable medication disposal envelopes. The postage-paid envelopes allow customers to mail their unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications through the U.S. Postal Service to a licensed, secure facility for safe destruction.

Saturday, April 27 is also National Drug Take Back Day, during which many law enforcement and municipal agencies across the country will hold public events that provide a safe, convenient and responsible means of drug disposal. For more information or to find a Take Back location in your area, visit www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/.

"By taking the opportunity to clean out your medicine cabinet and safely disposing of unwanted drugs, you can help prevent the ingestion of expired medication that may have lost its effectiveness while also potentially keeping it out of the wrong hands," said Tankut.  "It's also important to properly store the medication you are keeping to prevent exposure to excessive heat, light or moisture. All medications in your home should also be kept out of reach of children."

CVS/pharmacy offers online resources on www.CVS.com to help patients keep track of their prescriptions, including the ability to easily view all of their prescriptions and manage refills, as well as a first-in-the industry online Prescription Calendar to help patients keep track of when to take their medications.

"Getting in the habit of routinely reviewing your medications, properly disposing of unused and unwanted drugs, and keeping your medications organized to ensure you take your prescriptions correctly are all easy and effective ways to help you and your family on the path to better health," said Tankut.  

About CVS Caremark

CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) is dedicated to helping people on their path to better health as the largest integrated pharmacy company in the United States. Through the company's more than 7,400 CVS/pharmacy stores; its leading pharmacy benefit manager serving more than 60 million plan members; and its retail health clinic system, the largest in the nation with more than 600 MinuteClinic locations, it is a market leader in mail order, retail and specialty pharmacy, retail clinics, and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans.  As a pharmacy innovation company with an unmatched breadth of capabilities, CVS Caremark continually strives to improve health and lower costs by developing new approaches such as its unique Pharmacy Advisor program that helps people with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obtain and stay on their medications.  Find more information about how CVS Caremark is reinventing pharmacy for better health at info.cvscaremark.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: 
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SOURCE CVS Caremark