Carolinas Poison Center

Poisoning deaths among 15 to 19-year-olds have nearly doubled in the last decade. It's one of the fastest growing cause of death among teens. And the poison fueling this terrible trend may shock you: prescription drugs. Pain relievers, antidepressants, stimulants and other pills dispensed by a doctor for a family member or friend can be deadly if shared or misused in other ways.

Carolinas Poison Center is available 24/7 to help with your questions and concerns. Nurses and pharmacists handle all calls confidentially and free of charge . Please put this number in your phone: 1-800-222-1222.

For Educators: CLICK HERE to download the Sharing Pills Can Kill PowerPoint.

CLICK HERE to order free materials about preventing prescription medicine abuse for you or someone you know.

Sharing Prescription Pills Can Kill a Friendship

Carolinas Poison Center can help if someone has accidentally or intentionally:

taken another person's medicine
taken too much of his or her own medicine

Awareness Saves Lives

You can call Carolinas Poison Center
at 1-800-222-1222 for confidential medical help concerning any medication.
Over half of poisoning deaths among
15-19 year olds involved prescription drugs in 2009.¹
One out of every four calls
to the Carolinas Poison Center concerning a 15-19 year old is about a pain reliever (like Vicodin®), antidepressant (like Prozac®), or stimulant (like Adderall®).
It's estimated that about 1 in 35
sixteen-year-olds will experiment with non-medical use of prescription pain relievers.²
Painkiller abuse is second
only to marijuana abuse among people ages 12 or older.³
You can call Carolinas Poison Center
at 1-800-222-1222 for confidential medical help concerning any medication.
Over half of poisoning deaths among
15-19 year olds involved prescription drugs in 2009.¹

>< Stop

¹ CDC MMWR, April 16th, 2012
² "Extramedical Use of Prescription Pain Relievers by Youth Aged 12-21 Years in the United States." Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Published online May 7th, 2012.
³ National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. SAMHSA. 2008.