Items Tagged With prescription drugs

More young U.S. adults are abusing prescription medications, particularly painkillers, according to the government's annual report on substance abuse released on Thursday.

Overall, in 2006, 22.6 million people -- 9.2 percent of Americans ages 12 and up -- either abused or were addicted to drugs or alcohol in the prior year, according to estimates in the report from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

That is up slightly from an estimated 22.2 million people, or 9.1 percent of the population, in last year's report.