Dear Health-Smart Friend,

When I hear the word 'addiction' images of crack, heroin, dagga and CAT all come to mind. I think we often forget that these are not the only types of drugs people get addicted to. There's a more serious problem out there... and it could be on your doctor's prescription pad.

Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson's deaths have both been linked to prescription drugs. So what is happening and why aren't these drugs being better controlled? See what Dr Douglass has to say regarding the 21st century addictions.

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S. Most of us have experienced heart-burn at some stage of our lives... but what causes it and how can we stop it? See what Dr Wright has to say...

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Laid to rest: The Jackson story you're not hearing
Dr WC Douglass
Editor of Healthier News

It's sad that it has taken the death of Michael Jackson to put a spotlight - albeit a temporary one - on the incredibly serious and deadly problem of prescription drug addiction. Of course, this was just a blip in the story of Jackson's death. And it's a shame too, because it would've been a more lasting legacy for the man than thousands of people learning to "moonwalk".

We already know that he was asking a home healthcare worker to administer operating room-calibre anaesthetics and that the DEA is now a part of the investigation into his death. Yet the 24/7 media coverage is not focused on how he died, but on the aftermath of his death - who will take custody of his kids, who was bequeathed what in his will, which stars sang at his memorial service.

I'm not surprised that the role of prescription drugs has been swept under the rug. One of the dirtiest secrets out is that LEGAL drugs are a bigger problem than traditional "street" drugs like crack and heroin.

In fact, prescription meds are the second most abused drugs - and number one is marijuana.

The DEA estimates that 7 million people are abusing prescription pills - and more than 70% of this figure is thought to have a problem with painkillers. The abuse of these drugs caused as many as 8,500 deaths in America in 2005 alone.

The last time we saw this much hullabaloo over a prescription drug death was the "accidental" overdose of Heath Ledger in 2007. Since Ledger was an up-and-coming actor, there was less of a circus around his death, but still the role of prescription drugs - and the man's longstanding track record of abusing them - was significantly downplayed.

A pharmacologist professor from Duke University commented on the overdose by saying, "This is not rock star wretched excess. This is a situation that could happen to plenty of people with prescriptions for these kinds of drugs."

I'm not alone in my concern. The strategy director of the Partnership for a Drug Free America laments that when it comes to prescription pills "there is a relatively low perception of risk... a cultural climate of 'a pill for any ill' mentality is contributing to this."

What it boils down to is this: If you're a parent or grandparent, don't let your kids get caught up in the hype. Use this moment to teach them a valuable, lasting lesson about the dangers of drug abuse - prescription or otherwise.

Dont be part of the 'pill for any ill' mentality and find out more about drug-free remedies and natural health solutions

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Are acid reflux drugs really so bad?

Q: I know you don't believe in the drugs prescribed to treat acid reflux. But my husband started taking an acid blocker several years ago and it has saved him a great deal of suffering ever since. So what's so bad about these medications?

Dr. Wright: Think of acid-blocking treatment like drying up the river after a flood but never repairing the faulty dam that's causing the flooding. Like many of the "wonder drugs" that have become available in this age of pharmaceutical-dominated medicine, neither anti-acid drugs nor traditional neutralising antacid products do anything to cure the underlying causes of heartburn or GERD. They only temporarily suppress the major symptom - heartburn. And symptom suppression, sadly, is enough for mainstream medicine.

But acid-blocking drugs, by their very nature, cause profound changes in the internal environment of the stomach and intestines. These changes have been associated with a wide range of ailments. Decades of research have demonstrated that chronically low levels of stomach acid can be harmful in the long run, causing poor digestion, which leads to inefficient absorption of nutrients from food, which leads to malnutrition.

Besides, the relief anti-acid drugs offer is temporary. Heartburn stays away only as long as acid levels stay suppressed and acid levels stay suppressed only as long as you keep taking the drugs. If you stop taking them, you risk heartburn's return, sometimes with a vengeance. It's not uncommon for people using ant-acids to take them daily for years and years at a time in order to avoid a relapse.

This strategy leaves much to be desired for people with heartburn, but it works great for the pharmaceutical companies. If the drugs actually cured heartburn/GERD, the companies wouldn't make nearly as much money as they do by selling drugs that provide only temporary relief.