Position on the Risk of Drug Abuse and Anorectic Medications

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) monitors 738 hospital emergency rooms. In 1988, the report covered over 160,000 drug abuse episodes in E.R.'s and 6,756 drug abuse related deaths by medical examiner reports. A few selected drugs are reported on in the table below:

Thus, a review of the complete study showed that prescription anorectic drugs were involved in about 4 out of every 10,000 episodes. And no prescription anorectics were involved in any of the 6,756 deaths reported by the medical examiners.

Thus, it is the conclusion of the ASBP and this physician that prescription anorectics are safe and effective and, when given in a medically supervised setting, can be used for years safely. Safety is improved when the physician uses the Anorectic Usage Guidelines as approved by the ASBP Board of Trustees on November 10, 1990. Be assured that I have thoroughly studied these guidelines and have implemented them in my practice.