The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently created a web page, Disposal by Flushing of Certain Unused Medicines: What You Should Know, to assist consumers in disposing of certain medications, including some high-potency opioids and other selected controlled substances.

The FDA recommends some medicines be disposed of by flushing down the sink or toilet, in order to prevent children and others from accidentally ingesting the drugs. Some medicines are potentially harmful or deadly in a single dose if taken by someone other than the intended user.

The web site explains that a person may have already received disposal directions for medicines upon receiving a prescription. If a person's medicine is on the FDA list of medicines recommended for flushing, but he or she did not receive information on disposal with the prescription, directions on disposal of the medicines can be found at DailyMed -- http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/about.cfm by searching for the drug name.

The FDA notes that disposal by flushing is not appropriate for most medicines.

For those medicines without disposal directions, safe disposal can be carried out by placing the medicine in the household trash and mixing the medicine with something to hide the medicine or make it unappealing, such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds, and then placing that mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag.

Another option may be to dispose of the medication through drug "take back" programs, if federal and state laws permit.

"The safe disposal of medicines from the home after they are no longer needed is an important concern for the FDA," said Douglas Throckmorton, M.D., deputy center director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

The medicines listed as recommended for disposal by flushing include Actiq, Avinza, Daytrana, Demerol, Diastat/Diastat AcuDial, Dilaudid, Dolophine Hydrochloride, Duragesic Embeda, Fentora, Kadian, Methadone Hydrochloride, Methadose, Morphine Sulfate, MS Contin, Onsolis, Opana, Opana ER, Oramorph SR, Oxycontin, Percocet, Percodan, and Xyrem.

"The FDA is working with other groups to improve the use of several drug disposal methods, including drug take back programs," Throckmorton further stated. "However, for some potent medicines that can cause harm or death if inadvertently taken by family members, the FDA currently recommends flushing them down the sink or toilet to immediately and permanently remove them from the home. Simple precautions like these can reduce the likelihood of accidental and potentially dangerous exposure to unused medicines."

The FDA has worked with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) since 2007 to develop consumer guidance for proper disposal of prescription drugs. The 2009 version of the federal guidelines is available at:

http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/prescrip_disposal.pdf.

Adapted in part from a FDA press release.
Link: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm186598.htm

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