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Urban Outfitters Discontinues Prescription-Themed Merchandise

drugfree.org

National retailer Urban Outfitters is halting sales of a line of products that mimic prescription pill bottles and prescription pads following a plea from Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway and 23 of his colleagues.

In a recent statement to the media, Urban Outfitters announced it would discontinue its “Prescription Line” of products due to its “misinterpretation.”

Conway and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine led efforts to contact Urban Outfitters to urge the retailer, popular with teens, to stop selling products, including pint glasses, shot glasses and flasks, made to look like prescription pill bottles.

“Urban Outfitters is doing the right thing by removing these tasteless products that make light of an epidemic that kills thousands of people each month in the United States,” Conway said in a press release. “I hope Urban Outfitters will continue to support our efforts to educate the public, and teens in particular, about the deadly consequences of prescription drug abuse.”

Conway is the co-chair of the Substance Abuse Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General.

In a letter dated May 22, 2013 (PDF file), the Attorneys General outlined their concerns and urged Urban Outfitters to cease sales of prescription-themed products.

The request was echoed by a growing number of public officials, concerned citizens and organizations on the frontline in the battle against prescription drug abuse, including the Office of National Drug Control Policy and The Partnership at Drugfree.org.

John Null is the host and creator of Left of the Dial. From 2013-2016, he also served as a reporter in the WKMS newsroom.
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