Americans popping more pills

Americans are it seems popping more pills than ever, as according to an analysis of federal data, sales of leading painkiller medications soared by 90 percent in the eight years between 1997 and 2005.

Data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the U.S. suggests that over 200,000 pounds of five major painkiller drugs such as codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and meperidine were purchased from retail outlets.

That equates to enough for 300 milligrams of painkillers for every person in the U.S.

Oxycodone, the main ingredient in Oxycontin, is a painkiller famous for addictive side-effects and it's use has increased six fold.

More and more Americans are also turning to painkillers such as Vicodin and Codeine to deal with a wide range of problems and a variety of reasons are suggested for the rise in painkiller use in the U.S.

Among them are the increase in the aging population; a tremendous increase in the amount spent on drug marketing (from 11 billion dollars spent in 1997 to 30 billion in 2005); changes in the way pain is managed, and new philosophies regarding pain management.

Also as more and more people survive diseases such as cancer and other life threatening diseases, they also have increased pain management needs.

The analysis also found widespread abuse of the drugs by those taking them as well as doctors and pharmacists who often misled patients about the addictive properties of the drugs.

A government report issued in 2004 estimated in the region of 2 to 3 million doses of the painkillers codeine, hydrocodone and oxycodone were stolen every year from American pharmacies, drug manufacturers and distributors.