I need some assistance with these assignment. over-prescribed medication Thank you in advance for the help!

I need some assistance with these assignment. over-prescribed medication Thank you in advance for the help! Overprescription of medication leads to several health problems. According to Lessenger and Feinberg (2007), over-prescription of drugs can easily drive patients to drug addiction where the patients become dependent on that particular medication for survival. Being an addict, one cannot control his/her urge to use the drugs despite the harmful effects. Addiction interferes with the normal functioning of the brain, causing long-term consequences to the patients, including mental health conditions. Moreover, addiction causes a financial strain for the patient and the family members, as the addict uses a lot of money to maintain the addiction, as well as in intervention programs.

Also, over-prescription leads to drug abuse, where patients use drugs for nontherapeutic purposes. Lessenger and Feinberg (2007) state that drug abuse due to over-prescription has steadily increased because according to their research, they found out that 6.4 million people making up 2.6% of the population have abused prescription medication. Most people abuse drugs to alter their state of consciousness or emotions by believing that it makes them feel good and forget their worries. When medical practitioners over-prescribe drugs to citizens, they make those drugs readily available for non-medical use leading to misuse or abuse. According to an article on USA Health Statistics, Americans consume over half of all drugs produced in the world today. This revelation is an indication that the majority of citizens in the country misuse the drugs prescribed to them. Based on the fact that Americans constitute only 5% of the population in the world, the rate at which the country consumes medicines is worrying. Americans consume 25 million pills per hour, a clear indication that most citizens abuse drugs (USA Health Statistics, n.d.).

Furthermore, the over-prescription of drugs can easily lead to suffering or death of patients. The USA Health Statistics states that though approximately 15,000 Americans die from illegal substance abuse every year, out of this number, 10,000 deaths are due to properly prescribed drugs (n.d.). The statistics further states that between 106,000 and 196,000 people die each year in the USA hospitals due to appropriately prescribed medication but under over-prescribed circumstances. Some prescription drugs are always a misfit to the patients.