We believe the federal government could study the questions of prescription drug dependence and cessation support. It could do a Canada-wide study to see what is happening in terms of practices. It could make recommendations so that when a medication is prescribed, people receive the right information and health professionals are able to support them when they want to reduce or change the dose of their medication, or even stop using it.
These are the issues that we think need to be addressed. Health spending includes the cost of prescription drugs. We have to take a look at those costs to see whether everything being prescribed is always necessary, which is not always the case. However, cessation is really a hard road to take, and that means that the medication may stay in the pill box for a long time, even if the person no longer wants to take it.