The fast pace and increasing stress that comes with the American lifestyle might be pushing people to overuse prescription drugs, according to a CBS article.

The U.S. makes up 5 percent of the world's population but accounts for 42 percent of the world's spending on prescription drugs, the October article said.

"Are people way over medicated in this country? My answer is absolutely, yes," said Marcus Reidenberg, a professor of pharmacology and medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Nora Maginnis, nurse practitioner at University Health Services, said Americans are so dependent on drugs because the drugs are more available.

"There's a lot more medicine than there was 30 years ago. And there's an explosion of the number of medicines," Maginnis said. "We have more options now than we used to."

The increase in medications available helps a majority of the public. Many are grateful for the medical advances, she said.

"I take several prescriptions for medical conditions, and if [the medicine] didn't exist 10 years ago, I'd be dead," Megan Lighty (senior-animal science) said.

Many times the fast-paced American lifestyle contributes to this problem, said Maginnis. She said Americans tend to engage in risky behavior and then want to buy treatment for the consequences.

"We live in a society of 'Oh if there's a problem, here's a pill,' " Joshua Walker (senior-meteorology) said.

Some people are under the false impression that they can buy health, Maginnis said.

"Americans say, 'When in doubt, pop a pill,' " Riley Burke (senior-nutrition) said.

Maginnis said lifestyle changes can help alleviate American's dependency on prescription drugs.

"If you develop diabetes for being overweight and are taking four or five pills, you could lose weight then you won't be taking as many pills," she said.

Students at Penn State said they know of other students abusing prescription drugs for a variety of reasons. Some take them to get high while others to help them study, students said.

"Back at Hazleton, students would either chop up Adderall [and take a piece at a time] or sniff it as a whole," Kiyah Daniell (junior-communications arts and sciences) said.

She said it really helps students focus, stay up late and study or cram for tests.

Luke Marshall (junior-actuarial science) said teh students who take Adderall are usually the students who are not prepared and are cramming for their tests.

Sometimes Americans are educated about prescription drugs solely from a 45-second ad on the television, Maginnis said.

"I absolutely think that media has a huge influence on what people buy. There are commercials for Allegra and Claritin, and you don't really know of the other drugs out there," Hilary Briggs (junior-journalism) said.

James Dettore, CEO of The Brand Institute Inc., said his company is the largest naming company for developing brands, products, services and companies. In 2005, the company named eight out of the top 10 advertised brands that were directly available to consumer, he said.

"You name it, we name it," he said.

Dettore said the new, quick pace and added stresses of society have affected people and their bodies in a different way. He said pharmaceutical manufactures now must keep pace with this new burden on the American health situation.

Reidenburg agreed, saying the generalization that Americans are over-treated and over-medicated is often incorrect.

"I think that there are many situations where people who are sick are going untreated. Other people are taking prescriptions, and they are better off by not doing it," Reidenberg said.

"Basically, some are over-treated and some are under-treated."