At least once a year we are encouraged to "properly" dispose of unwanted or expired medications. Local hospitals usually have collection sites so "responsible people" can drop off their meds for safe disposal. Pharmacies too offer the safe disposal of unused and expired medications. So one would think that as hospitals and pharmacies recommend cleaning out your medicine cabinet, that must be the thing to do. And when you look into recommendations for expired medications on the internet, many sites stress the dangers of expired medications whether they are over the counter or prescription.

The FDA tells John Q. Public, “Out with the old! Be it the fresh start of a new year or a spring cleaning, consumers are encouraged to take stock of what has surpassed its usefulness. Medicines are no exception.”

And they give "useful instructions" on their website as to the proper way to destroy medication so it cannot be used in the future. They think it best that we mix kitty litter, dirt, or other unpalatable substances into your “expired or unused medications.”

Unless you take the time to investigate the facts, you are being led to believe that the majority of medications are useless or even dangerous after that magic date on the bottle, and the pharmaceutical company makes a whole lot of money at your expense. They are banking on just how gullible the public is when it come to the propaganda they spread about the dangers of taking an expired medication.

Reading The 2016 Pharmaceutical Market Report they are not suffering financially:

U.S. Snapshot

Population: 322 million
Population over 65: 48 million (15%)
Total pharmaceutical sales: $333 billion (1.9%
of GDP; 10.7% of total healthcare exp.)
Per capita pharmaceutical sales: $1036
Generic sales: $70 billion (21% of total sales)
Patented sales: $244 billion (70% of total sales)
OTC sales: $19 billion (6% of total sales)

An article on MedPageToday states, "Given that Americans currently spend more than $300 billion annually on prescription medications, extending drug expiration dates could yield enormous healthcare expenditure savings."

"Manufacturers put expiration dates on for marketing, rather than scientific, reasons," says Mr. Flaherty, a pharmacist at the FDA until his retirement last year. "It's not profitable for them to have products on a shelf for 10 years. They want turnover."

Have you ever hear of the old saying, do as I say not as I do? Well that applies to the FDA recommendations for the military for unused and expired medications.

According to Harvard Health Publications, most of what is known about drug expiration dates comes from a study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration at the request of the military. With a large and expensive stockpile of drugs, the military faced tossing out and replacing its drugs every few years. What they found from the study is 90% of more than 100 drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiration date.

Excluding nitroglycerin, insulin, and liquid antibiotics, most medications are as long-lasting as the ones tested by the military. Placing a medication in a cool place, such as a refrigerator, will help a drug remain potent for many years.

So, with the high cost of medication today the question arises, is disposal the best thing to do? After all what if the occasion arises that you might need that medication in the future? It certainly would be convenient and a real cost savings if you could just open the cabinet and be able to instantly address your health problem.

The vast majority of people are relatively smart and understand the reason the medication was purchased in the first place. Just by placing a simple notation as to the use on the bottle is easy to do for future reference. And just think how much money you will save by not tossing useful medication.

But please, no matter what your philosophy is regarding expired and unused medications please don't flush it!

Source:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/drug-expiration-dates-do-they-mean-anything
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/04/02/drug-expiration-part-one.aspx