Panel discussion set on prescription drug problems

The St. Petersburg Times invites the public to a free panel discussion on prescription drugs.

Prescription painkillers and antianxiety drugs now kill about 500 people a year in the Tampa Bay area, three times the number killed by illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Prescription drug overdoses killed 433 people in the bay area in 2006, up from 339 the year before. Though 2007 figures aren't complete, the area is on pace for about 550 deaths. That means prescription drug overdoses are likely to overtake car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death here.

Discuss the issue with Times staff writer Chris Tisch at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening at the Quorum Hotel, 700 N West Shore Blvd., Tampa.