Are drugs the leading cause of death in the US?

Recently, I made a post on Facebook about what I believe to be the wrongful use of psychiatric medication in children in this country which sparked a debate with a friend. This friend, being employed by a pharmaceutical company, is somewhat "pro-drug." And since I did all this digging (and learned a few things in the process) in order to back up my claims, I thought I'd share.

My initial claim was that "Prescription drugs are the leading cause of death in this country."

Based on websites like this one , I can see how this rumor started.  And I apologize for getting my facts mixed up... I'm usually much better about that... This was the ACTUAL info I was thinking of.

But then I started thinking... This claim CAN be argued to be true or false, since the evidence is sketchy and it's difficult to prove.  Many articles regarding drug-related deaths point out that "drugs of choice, perceptions, and patterns of behavior can differ. [Drug] abuse contributes to traffic accidents, crime, and overdoses, although data inconsistencies can make drug use and its consequences hard to quantify."  And this only refers to illegal drug use.

According to the CDC, the top causes are:

1. Diseases of heart
2. Malignant neoplasms
3. Chronic lower respiratory diseases
4. Cerebrovascular diseases
5. Accidents (unintentional injuries)
6. Alzheimer’s disease
7. Diabetes mellitus
8. Influenza and pneumonia
9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis
10. Intentional self-harm (suicide)
11. Septicemia
12. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
13. Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease
14. Parkinson’s disease
15. Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids

This was the same source my friend used to disprove my claim. 

But the truth of the matter is that aside from "accidental poisoning," which clocks in at .61%,  deaths from drugs (OTC/illegal/prescription or taken-as-prescribed/abused) will never be clearly reported because the cause of death is reported in the manner of "respiratory failure" or "heart failure."  Many of these causes RESULT from drug use. Whitney Houston's cause of death was listed as "drowning."  Amy Winehouse's death could be considered "dehydration" due to too much alcohol in her system. Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack's deaths were blamed on pneumonia, despite the questionable mix of medications they were taking (both prescription and non-prescription).  The list goes on and on: Heath Ledger, Ana Nicole Smith, Corey Haim, Mike Star, Bubba Smith, Jani Lane, Mikey Welsh, Leslie Carter...  All are celebrities who have passed due to drug-related causes in the past few years...  And that only accounts for those in the public eye and mostly illegal drug use which is only a small percentage of drug-related deaths in this country.  What about the people we have known who accidentally overdosed on Tylenol or Advil and ended up in the hospital with potential liver or kidney failure or gastric distress (I can think of three people off the top of my head who I know personally that have fallen into this trap)?  And the multitudes of people who flippantly admit to exceeding the daily limit of whatever OTC pain reliever they're on because they are under the mistaken impression that it can't hurt them. What about the people who are given antibiotics for fungal infections, allowing those infections to rapidly spread (I've had at least one friend who died from this at the age of 30!) and those who have strokes due to birth control methods?  What about the folks who ended up with strokes or seizures due to Accutane?  Or all those drugs that were temporarily on the market and then recalled when the dangers were discovered (Phen-fen, Darvocet, Vioxx, and Thalidomide, for example)?

And what about the deaths that result from violence?  This article is sobering... and lists the top ten drugs that induce violent behavior, the worst one being Chantix, a drug used to aid in smoking cessation.

Drugs are now the leading cause of accidental death in this country. And in many of those approximately 40,000 deaths, the patients were taking the medication as prescribed.

Can I say that drugs are the number one killer in this country?  Not with certainty.  But I CAN say with overwhelming assertion that the medical system kills more people than anything else.  After reading the articles sited here, I'd say the numbers speak for themselves.  Am I anti-drug? No.  Am I against M.D.s?  No. (I'm actually friends with them!)  But I caution you: Don't become a statistic.  Make medicine your last resort, AFTER seriously implementing the lifestyle changes recommended by a qualified holistic practitioner, and spare yourself unnecessary pain, misery, and a premature burial.

In loving service,

Dr. Redmond