VOA标准英语2012--In US, Prescription Drug Overdoses More Deadly Than Car Crashes

In US, Prescription¹ Drug Overdoses More Deadly Than Car Crashes

The death of American singer and actress Whitney Houston has sparked discussion about accidental overdosing on prescription drugs.
The official cause of Houston's death is still pending², but authorities found a small amount of prescription drugs in her hotel room, and people reported seeing her drinking champagne³ in the days before her death. Some of these medicines slow down the central nervous system. Alcohol does the same. The combination could be deadly.
Jennifer Brand is a doctor of pharmacology at Medstar Washington Hospital Center.
"Something that we’re seeing more and more of, particularly in the news, is combinations of pain killers⁴, things like oxycontin, percoset, vicodin, and anti-anxiety medications," Brand said.
Millions of Americans take anti-depressants, sleep aids and pain killers. The pharmacy⁵'s label on the bottle can provide a false sense of security. This young man, known as "Greg," used medicines prescribed to his parents.
"I could rationalize and justify⁶ taking these pills because doctors prescribed them. It wasn't like I was buying a white bag on the street," he said.
A few years ago, doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noticed a trend in deaths from prescription drug use. In 2008, they published a study confirming their observations. Dr. Aron Hall is one of the co-authors.
"We found that a majority of people who overdosed on prescription drugs did not have a prescription for the drugs that killed them," Hall said.
But patients also have access to their own prescriptions⁷, over-the-counter medications and herbal remedies.
"Every medication that you add increases the risk for harm as well," Brand said.
If a patient sees more than one doctor and uses more than one pharmacy, a potentially dangerous consequence is that no one, at least no health care professional, has a complete list of his or her medications. It's also hard to know how someone reacts to even one type of medicine.
"Every patient reacts differently to medication…some are extremely sensitive, some take much, much more medication and don’t have any effect at all. Unfortunately, there’s really no way to know that for sure," Brand said.
Brand recommends sticking with one primary physician, and if you do see specialists, make sure all your doctors know what medicines you are taking. She also recommends using only one pharmacy, and if you want to take something else, ask a pharmacist if it is safe to take with your prescriptions.

1 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

2 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

3 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

4 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

5 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

6 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

7 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。