Pharmaceutical Disposal (Reader Response)

Based on the article, ‘Pharmaceutical Disposal’, Iburch (2015), states that disposing of unused medications is a common practice by many residents and hospitals in New York. Disposal methods like flushing or throwing into rivers causes water to be polluted. People practices disposal because there is no law that prevent improper disposal of pharmaceutical drugs. According to Iburch, studies found trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs in drinking water and treatment plants are not equipped to remove pharmaceutical contaminants which is a problem treating these kind of waste. The writer states that even though pharmaceutical contaminations are found in water, there is no proven health effects on human. However, he strongly assert that it is necessary to promote safe disposal options for the people so that residents and healthcare facilities will not dispose unused medications improperly. A federal law is being implemented to provide more options to safe pharmaceutical disposal. As such, I agree with the article to a certain extent that pharmaceutical disposal is a crisis problem that needs to be resolve quickly and increase awareness to the public.  

Firstly, the reason why I agree to a certain extent is because improper disposing of pharmaceutical drugs can be harmful to human and the environment. The writer states that in the article people either flush or throw their unused medicines into rivers or lakes. Even though the writer states that it does not affect human, but there are some medications that are fatal even with small dosage. The writer only show studies in the region but not around the globe. That is why he came up with the conclusion that ‘no humans has been harmed drinking polluted water.” In another article by FDA (2015), it states that some medication can have serious consequences on human health so medications currently have disposal instructions on how you can dispose your unused medications.

The article points out on how to safely dispose your unused medication. The promoting of safe disposal of pharmaceutical drugs is very important to prevent pollution of water and environment. According to research, WHO (1999), public and media must be inform of safe disposal instructions and the current situation of pharmaceutical disposal. If public and media are not inform regarding the disposal, things will get out of hand and the water that we drink may become too polluted to drink. Furthermore, “The Secure and Responsible Drug Act was passed into law to encourage voluntary drug take back programs” and also to improve public awareness of such events.

In conclusion, Iburch article brought up good pointers on pharmaceutical disposal and how it can affect the people and environment. He may not have given detailed information about improper disposal but it was clear in the article that too much of such disposal will bring harm to us in the near future.

Iburch (2015) http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/pharmaceutical-disposal.asp

World Health Organisation (1999) http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jwhozip51e/2.8.html

US Food & Drug Administration (2015) - http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm