WAKE UP: STUDY REVEALS 75% OF TEENS REPORT INCREASED KNOWLEDGE FROM PRESCRIPTION DRUG PREVENTION PROGRAM

Orlando, FL ( April 3, 2013 ) – Results released this week by the independent research firm Touchstone Research Institute , reveal s the 2012 t een prescription drug abuse pilot program, WAKE UP!, to be a success . Compared to a benchmark survey of approximately 3,800 students conducted prior to the program launch, data shows that more than 75 percent of all respondents were significantly more aware of the dangers of misusing and abusing prescription drugs.

According to the U.S Office of National Drug Control Policy, most teens initially get prescription pills from family and friends, including straight from home medicine cabinets. Prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic in the United States. More than one - third of those abusing prescription drugs in the U.S. are between the ages of 12 - 17. Deaths from prescription drug overdoses h ave become the second leading cause of accidental deaths nationwide, and the leading cause in as many as 15 states.

WAKE UP! , established by The Pain Truth, a Florida 501(c)(3), was implemented in to five pilot schools , thanks in part to a grant from Millennium Laboratories, three in San Diego, CA, and two in Tampa Bay , FL. T he objective of the in - school prescription drug educational program i s to raise awareness, increase knowledge, and change perceptions co ncerning the misuse and abuse of controlled prescription medications among high school students , providing students with knowledge to make better decisions and prevent first use. WAKE UP! us es multi - media, social marketing and other tactics that are familiar and appealing to teens, but WAKE UP! program developers believe the real motivating force is the science - based facts presented to the students.

 Read the complete press release here.

Visit www.wakeupnow.org for more information.