Following are guidelines for proper disposal of prescription drugs published by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Follow any specific disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that accompanies the medication. Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless this information specifically instructs you to do so.

If no instructions are given, throw the drugs in the household trash, but first:

• Take them out of their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. The medication will be less appealing to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash.

• Put the drugs in a resealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.

Take advantage of community drug take-back programs that allow the public to bring unused drugs to a central location for proper disposal. Call your city or county government's household trash and recycling service (see blue pages in phone book) to see if a take-back program is available in your community.

When in doubt about proper disposal, talk to your pharmacist. The same disposal methods for prescription drugs could apply to over-the-counter drugs as well.

Despite the safety reasons for flushing drugs, some people are questioning the practice because of concerns about trace levels of drug residues found in surface water, such as rivers and lakes, and in some community drinking water supplies. However, the main way drug residues enter water systems is by people taking medications and then naturally passing them through their bodies, says Raanan Bloom, Ph.D., an Environmental Assessment Expert in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Most drugs are not completely absorbed or metabolized by the body, and enter the environment after passing through waste water treatment plants."

For More Information:

To read more about safe disposal of drugs, visit www.smarxtdisposal.net.   (SMARXT DISPOSAL TM) public awareness campaign is a unique public-private partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the American Pharmacists Association, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Article adapted from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration website.