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Public Forum to Discuss Addiction As a Treatable Disease and Highlight National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month

Posted on: Wednesday, 12 September 2007, 12:00 CDT

Livonia, Mich., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- To mark September as National Alcohol and Drug Recovery Month, local Detroit-area community leaders are hosting a public forum to discuss addiction treatment options and resources for help. The forum will feature presentations by Donald Allen, Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, local physicians, drug counselors and the Livonia Save Our Youth Task Force. As part of an education component, the public forum will present a 19-minute screening of this year's HBO ADDICTION project, a hard-hitting, 14-part, multi-media documentary series about this misunderstood medical disease. Following is information about the event:

Thursday, September 25 6:30 PM Schoolcraft College, VisTaTech Center 18600 Haggerty Road Livonia, MI 48152

Media are invited to attend the forum and take this opportunity to give a local voice to the problem of addiction and the recovery solution in Michigan.

The forum will also spotlight the harmful impact of drug dependence, including opioids (prescription painkillers such as oxycodone, fentanyl, hydrocodone and morphine do you need to reference copyrights here? as well as heroin). Local problems with opioid dependence reflect the national data on this growing public health problem -- the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that approximately 5.2 million people currently misuse prescription pain relievers, second only to marijuana abuse. Additionally, nonmedical use of prescription drugs among young adults increased from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.4 percent in 2006, due largely to an increase in the nonmedical use of opioid painkillers.

Resources for Opioid Dependence and Its Treatment

Any physician may take the training to become certified to treat opioid- dependent individuals with Suboxone(R) (buprenorphine HCl/naloxone HCl dihydrate) C-III Sublingual Tablets, the only FDA-approved controlled medication that can be prescribed in a doctor's private office and with take- home prescriptions, under special legislation.

Individuals who need more information about opioid dependence and its treatment, either for themselves or for someone they are concerned about, have several options.

Free educational Resource Kits on this topic can be obtained from turntohelp.com or by calling 1-866-455-TURN, both provided by Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals. Turntohelp.com also offers a physician locator designed to help individuals find an area doctor available to prescribe buprenorphine.

The Addiction411 page is available on MySpace and offers direct access to information about this increasingly prevalent disease and practical guidance on how to find treatment for opioid dependence. Visit http://www.myspace.com/addiction411 if you or someone you know would like to access Addiction411.

Additionally, the non-profit patient advocacy group NAABT -- National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment -- is dedicated to helping educate the public on opioid dependence and medical treatment in a private doctor's office. NAABT now offers a nationwide confidential matching service to pair individuals seeking buprenorphine treatment with available doctors; visit naabt.org. SAMHSA's Web site also provides a physician locator and other valuable information at buprenorphine.samhsa.gov.

Partial funding for the event was made possible by Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc.

About Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company that markets Suboxone(R) (buprenorphine HCl/naloxone HCl dihydrate [2 mg/0.5 mg and 8 mg/2 mg]) C-III Sublingual Tablets and Subutex(R) (buprenorphine HCl [2 mg and 8 mg]) C-III Sublingual Tablets, formulations of buprenorphine used to treat opioid dependence in a medical office-based setting. Suboxone and Subutex, manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare Ltd., are the only controlled medications under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 approved by the FDA for office-based treatment of opioid dependence. Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc. is committed to expanding access to medical therapies for patients suffering from the chronic, relapsing brain disease of opioid dependence. For more information, visit suboxone.com or opioiddependence.com. Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser PLC, a publicly traded UK firm.

Statement of Fair Balance

SUBOXONE(R) (buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual tablets) is indicated for the treatment of opioid dependence.

Buprenorphine, usually by the intravenous route, in combination with benzodiazepines or other CNS depressants has been associated with significant respiratory depression and death.

SUBOXONE has potential for abuse and produces dependence of the opioid type with a milder withdrawal syndrome than full agonists.

Cytolytic hepatitis and hepatitis with jaundice have been observed in the addicted population receiving buprenorphine.

There are no adequate and well controlled studies of SUBOXONE (a Category C medication) in pregnancy.

Caution should be exercised when driving cars or operating machinery.

Always store buprenorphine containing medications safely and out of the reach of children and destroy any unused medication appropriately.

The most commonly reported adverse events with SUBOXONE include headache (36%, placebo 22%), withdrawal syndrome (25%, placebo 37%), pain (22%, placebo 19%), nausea (15%, placebo 11%), insomnia (14%, placebo 16%), and sweating (14%, placebo 10%). Please see full prescribing information for a complete list.

Suboxone and Subutex are registered trademarks of Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare Ltd.

Contact Information: Lindsay Treadway (617) 761-6738 lindsay.treadway@fkhealth.com

Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc.

CONTACT: Lindsay Treadway, +1-617-761-6738,lindsay.treadway@fkhealth.com, for Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Web site: http://turntohelp.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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