Humanity has been using medicines since the beginning of its existence. Most of them help and heal, which is undoubtedly their greatest blessing. Unfortunately, they have their dark side, which results mainly from their constantly growing consumption, which is connected, amongst others, with too easy access and abuse. More and more often a slight headache or abdominal pain causes that we immediately reach for the tablet, which is not indifferent to our body or the environment. So pharmaceuticals are by people, and also in increasingly larger amounts by animals, excreted and in some part are released to the environment. Pollution from certain pharmaceuticals presents a problem with well documented evidence of risks to the environment and human health. The volume of pharmaceutical products sold on the European market has increased rapidly over the last few decades, both in terms of volume of sales and in terms of the number of substances traded. According to the European Commission, more than 3000 active pharmaceutical ingredients are currently available on the market.
National Geographic presents the consequences of huge pharmaceuticals consumption
