Current Disposal Practices of Unused and Expired Medicines Among General Public in Delhi and National Capital Region, India

Abstract

Background: Stocking unused or expired medicines or donating these to others can lead to accidental or inappropriate ingestion, increasing the risk of adverse drug reaction(s) and even lead to antibiotic resistance. Further improper disposal of expired or unused medicines is associated with environmental pollution, health hazards and damage to ecosystem. Ecopharmacovigilance is an important area in this context. Objective: To explore the awareness and disposal practices of unused/expired in the general public. Material and Methods: The current study is an observational, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted in 956 medicine consumers in New Delhi and National Capital Region, India. The knowledge, attitude, and practice of consumers regarding the disposal of unused medicines were evaluated. Results: The majority (89.9%) of consumers opined that expiry of medicine(s) meant for completion of shelf life, production of toxic chemical and loss of or decreasing of beneficial effects of medicines. Majority (87%) of the consumers stored medicines at home. Almost all (92.6%) of the consumers threw away the expired medicines after storing for few days. Consumers discarded the expired medicines mainly in household trash (73%). The majority (93%) of consumers were in favour of a government program to collect unused or expired medicines from their home. Conclusion: The knowledge and practices of consumers towards disposal of unused and expired medicines needs to be improved. Health care professionals, government and policy makers should offer training to educate and guide the general public on safe and proper disposal practices of expired or unused medicines.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Unused and Expired Medication Disposal among Patients Visiting Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital

“…In the present study, throwing away the medicines in household garbage and flushing in toilet/sink were the most commonly preferred disposal practices for both unused and expired medicines. The finding is in agreement with studies conducted in Ethiopia [16,34] and elsewhere in the world [4,6,20,21,31,35]. In our study, burning leftover medicines were the other means of disposing for both unused and expired household medicines as reported by nearly twothirds of the respondents.…”

Disposal Practices of Unused and Leftover Medicines in the Households of Dhaka Metropolis

“…"Drug Disposal Day" could be a practical approach for taking back medicine [69]. Another study in India revealed that 96% of consumers threw away expired medication, and 73% were discarded in household trash with other garbage [70], supported by another study of Australia and Ethiopia [71,72]. According to this study, 72% of respondents emphasized safe drug disposal similarity with a study of Malaysia for household pharmaceutical waste (HPW) [73] and a similar study reported in Poland and Lebanon [74,75].…”

Knowledge, attitude, and practices on disposal methods of expired and unused medicines among students in public academic institutions in Lusaka, Zambia

“…Other studies have also reported a high proportion of storage of unused and expired medicines in households. [22][23][24] Regarding the risks of storing unused and expired medicines in their homes, 350 (90.9%) of participants strongly agreed that children are more susceptible to the risks related to unused and expired household medicines. Accidental pharmaceutical poisoning in young children is common and therefore, the need to appropriately store and safely dispose of unused and expired medicines.…”