Mega Pillions Gripping the Nation (No, That's Not a Typo)

This wasn't a typo. It was a test.

I figure you opened my blog for one of three reasons: 

1. You thought this was about Mega Millions, completely misread the title, and you clicked on the story.

2. You thought this was a typo, and wanted to confirm your suspicions.

3. You read the title, and wondered what on earth mega pillions is.

Our writer and community relations guy, Jeffrey Soto, was talking in Teensavers officers today about Mega Pillions. He simply made up the word, but said there's certainly value in making it a word because it describes the portion of our society that pop pills like Pez.

He wrote about how Americans are consumed with this lottery now that it is worth a half billion dollars. And despite the odds of winning being something like 176 million to one, people devote a good chunk of time romanticizing and discussing the "what ifs" of winning.

And come Saturday morning, barring another rollover of the world record setting jackpot, people will go on with their lives, parking the idea of the lottery in the back of their minds until the next big jackpot arrives.

What if I told you that 500 million pills are being abused by Americans every year?

Would that surprise you?    

What if I told you that number was really a billion? Americans misuse and abuse painkillers at a rate of about a billion per year.

About 2.5 million Americans start a pill addiction each year. Without a concentrated crackdown and regulation by the government on doctors, pharmacies, and illegal sales, that billion estimation for 2012 will continue to grow in the years to come.

And before you get that mental picture of the 55-70 year old baby boomer as the primary culprit, remember that 1 out of every 5 teenagers abuses prescription medications. Kids are just as consumed will getting high and abusing prescription drugs as their grandparents.   

But very few people are talking about. It isn't discussed much on the news (not at the frequency that lotto fever is bantered around.) It's seldomly talked about within our community. Most parents don't talk about pills with their kids, or take the precaution to eliminate unused, unwanted, or unlocked pills in the home.  

Spreading the word typically comes virally. It takes smaller, more community focused sites like Patch.com to even raise the issue. Beyond that, it takes victims of pill abuse like San Ramon's April Rovero to bring a face to the problem. April lost her son Joey to a drug overdose. She along with her family members, and some of Joey's friends established the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse (NCAPDA.) Now her tireless efforts help spread the word to families who are too naive to realize that they could lose a loved one tomorrow.

I know it's fun to think and dream about the fun and luxurious "what ifs" of winning the lottery. But what about the "what ifs" that are really close to the heart?   What if I lost my child or loved one to a drug overdose from pills? What if I just talked to my loved ones about the dangers of pills regularly? What if I shared those dangers with other parents and loved ones?

We might just make a difference.