Mercer taking back drugs too

Thanks to all the Mercer folks who wrote to tell us that its student pharmacists will also be taking part in the upcoming National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 27.

Mercer students will be at the university’s Atlanta location — 3001 Mercer University Drive — helping folks dispose of their unneeded meds.

And you can find other drop-off locations at takebackday.dea.gov.

Meanwhile, in Augusta…

Bob Coleman hosted the Region Briefing with some of the area’s top pharmacy pros. It looked a little like this:

Walgreens, Rite Aid raise tobacco buying age

Walgreens and Rite Aid have both announced that, while they will still sell tobacco products in their stores (in states where it’s legal to do so), they will be raising the age for purchasing them to 21.

Walgreens said it will also work to help people quit smoking: “Through ongoing training and certification for pharmacists and technicians, we also continue to help and support people looking to quit the use of tobacco in their lives.”

Rite Aid said it is “dedicated to providing value to both our customers and our investors” and has trained its pharmacists to provide counseling to people who wish to quit smoking.

CVS stopped selling tobacco products in 2014.

The most important thing you’ll learn this year

Don’t ignore the symptoms. Depression, stress, and the risk of burnout and suicide is spiking for healthcare professionals, especially pharmacists.

Maybe it doesn’t describe you — but look to the nearest member of your team.

The Georgia Pharmacy Foundation has a new, free home-study webinar called Burnout, Depression, and Suicide: Impact on Patients and Pharmacy Staff.

It’s four separate sessions, each offering 1.0 hours of CPE credit for pharmacists and technicians, and each designed to be taken in the comfort of home (or your favorite hotspot).

It could be the most important thing you’ll learn this year. Click here or visit GPha.org/burnout for details.

Feds target distributors

Drug distributor Rochester Drug Cooperative and two of its former execs were charged with felonies related to their role in the opioid crisis — the first time a distributor has been charged for failing to report suspicious sales activity (“conspiring to distribute drugs and defrauding the government”).

The company agreed to pay a $20 million fine and enter what’s essentially a five-year probation.

“We made mistakes,” Jeff Eller, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement.

Sometimes it actually is lupus

Learn to recognize the signs.

Odd health news: Gamer girls may be making social sacrifices

Girls may be better gamers (trust me on this), but a new study says it might be hurting their social skills. Oddly, the impairment seems to affect pre-teen girls, but not pre-teen boys.