Total sales for prescription drugs reached $291.5 billion last year in the U.S. and Alabamians may have lent a big hand to that statistic.
Alabama was ranked second behind West Virginia in prescription drug use for 2007, according to a report released by Forbes Magazine.
"Physicians are prescribing more, because when people take the time to go to a doctor, they expect to leave there with a prescription," said pharmacist Angie Vaughan. "They won't leave without one."
In Alabama in 2008, pharmacists filled 16.7 prescriptions per capita compared to a national average of 11.5.
However, that may not be because Alabamians are running to the doctor every time they get a head cold.
"I think Alabamians take more drugs because of their high-fat content diet," Vaughan said. "We eat everything fried and we consume more fast food than we should. That has a lot to do with it. It can lead to numerous health problems like diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure."
The national average for obese or overweight adults is 63 percent, and Alabama ranks above that at 67.9 percent, according to statehealthfacts.org.
The same goes for heart disease rate among Alabamians, 252.3 people per 100,000 in Alabama struggle with heart disease.
The national average is 200.2 per 100,000 people, according to statehealthfacts.org.
Also, Alabamians have a higher prevalence of diabetes.
Statistics for the state show 11.3 percent of residents suffer from it, as opposed to a national average of 8.2, according to statehealthfacts.org.
Obesity leading to the use of blood pressure and heart medications is just one of the things that could be to blame for Alabama's high prescription drug use rates.
Other possible contributing factors include allergies, increasing use of anti-depressants, pain medication and recreational drug use.
"We have more allergens in the South, due to the climate and humidity," Vaughan says. "That causes a lot of people to have to take drugs like Allegra."
Many popular decongestants used to treat allergies contain pseudoephedrine, which has caused them to no longer be available over-the-counter.
Patients needing a prescription for medicines they used to get over-the-counter is another contributing factor to the rise in prescription drug-use among Alabamians and other states nationwide.
"Also, in the past year I have seen an increased use of anti-depressants," Vaughan said. "I think this has a lot to do with people stressing out over issues related to the bad economy."
The pain medicine hydrocodone is the most widely prescribed prescription drug in Alabama.
According to Vaughan, the drug is often abused by patients and in some cases used as a recreational drug.
"Hydrocodone is abused due an increased tolerance after taking it so much," Vaughan said. "You have to take more and more to receive any beneficial effects from it."
Hydrocodone was once the most was commonly used recreational drug on college campuses across the U.S.
But according to Dr. David Chupp, a pediatrician, the popular pain medicine has now been surpassed by the stimulant Adderall.
The drug, which is intended to treat patients with ADHD, is frequently used by college students to help improve focus and keep them wide awake when studying for a big test.
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