When teens were asked why prescription medicine abuse was increasing among peers, teens cited 'ease of access' as a major factor. Specifically, the majority cited parents' medicine cabinets, and/or medicine cabinets in the homes of friends, as major access points.

Approximately one in five teenagers has abused a prescription (Rx) painkiller and one in 11 has abused OTC products, the group says.

"A new category of substance abuse is emerging in America: Increasingly, teenagers are getting high through the intentional abuse of medications," said Roy Bostock, chairman of the Partnership. "For the first time, our national study finds that today's teens are more likely to have abused a prescription painkiller to get high than they are to have experimented with a variety of illicit drugs -- including Ecstasy, cocaine, crack and LSD. In other words, 'Generation Rx' has arrived."

Medication Abuse Has Penetrated Teen Culture

The 2004 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) surveyed more than 7,300 teenagers (margin of error: +/- 1.5 percent). Top-line findings include the following:

Medications Should Not Be Demonized

"Our collective challenge as public health professionals is daunting: to prevent the abuse of medications that are, by and large, essential for millions of Americans," said Michael Maves, M.D., executive vice president and chief executive officer of the American Medical Association.

"We must focus on preventing the intentional abuse of these medications, and on understanding the fine line between appropriate use and abuse. We should not demonize these otherwise beneficial medications, but rather work to change behavior," Dr. Maves added.

"Adolescent abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications represents one of the most significant developments in substance abuse trends in recent memory," said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of the Partnership.

"Educating parents and teenagers about the risks of abusing medications will be exceptionally challenging, but it clearly must be done," Pasierb urged.

Teens' Reasons Investigated

The Partnership's annual tracking study -- the largest, ongoing analysis of drug-related attitudes in the country -- began measuring abuse of select medications in 2003. In the 2004 survey, these questions were refined, the group says. Because data from both years confirm the significance of the Rx/OTC medicine abuse category. the Partnership intends to expand its study to include more questions in this area in the future.

Given the significant levels of Rx and OTC medicine abuse reported in the PATS study, the Partnership commissioned additional consumer research to better understand teens’ awareness, knowledge and attitudes about this category of substance abuse.

Researchers are probing teens’ reasons for abusing Rx and OTC medications, teen access points to Rx and OTC medications and, very importantly, the degree of risk teens associate with specific medications. Results of this research will be released by early summer.

Safer, Easier to Obtain

Several important insights have surfaced in the early analysis of the latest research, according to Partnership researchers:

Steady Declines in Teens Abusing a Variety of Drugs

Overall, fewer teens are using a variety of drugs, according to the PATS study. The data report significant and sustained declines in the number of teenagers using tobacco, and noteworthy declines in the number of teens using alcohol.

Since 1998, teen attitudes about marijuana -- the most widely used illicit drug -- have strengthened (that is, they see more risk in using the drug, and less social acceptance), explaining a steady decline in the number of young people using marijuana. In 2004, 37 percent of teens reported ever experimenting with the drug, compared to 42 percent in 1998.

The data also report a remarkable turnaround in the number of teenagers using MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly referred to as Ecstasy). Since its peak in 2001, when 12 percent of teenagers reported trying the drug at least once, the data report a 25 percent decline in the number of teenagers who’ve used Ecstasy (from 12 percent to nine percent).

The number of teens using other illicit drugs -- crack/cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, LSD and GHB -- remains relatively stable.

Downturn in Federal Funding of Ads

There are two areas of special concern, says the Partnership: More teenagers report using inhalants to get high, and teen abuse of Rx and OTC medications to get high represents a significant, emerging category of substance abuse in America.

For the first time in several years, teens report seeing/hearing fewer anti-drug ads in mass media. In 2004, 48 percent of teens reported seeing/hearing anti-drug ads daily or more often, down from 52 percent the year earlier.

The downturn perhaps reflects cuts in federal funding to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, coordinated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in cooperation with the Partnership, the group suggests. The campaign buys advertising time and space in mass media to guarantee anti-drug ads reach teen audiences.

Reduced funding translates into fewer ads reaching teenagers consistently, the group notes. Over the years, the Partnership’s data have shown a consistent correlation between high exposure to anti-drug ads and young people developing stronger anti-drug attitudes and lower levels of drug use.

Parents Talking Less About Drugs

Also for the first time, according to the data, teenagers are more likely to report learning a lot about the risks of drugs from television commercials than they are from their parents.

In 2004, 39 percent of teens reported learning a lot about the risks of drugs from television commercials. Some 30 percent reported learning a lot from parents or grandparents.

“Parents can have exceptional influence on their kids’ decision-making about drugs,” said Pasierb. “But we’ve got clear challenges with this generation of parents.” In February, the Partnership released a national study showing that the current generation of parents is talking less with their kids about drugs, when compared to parents just a few years ago.