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Aspirin is the most widely used drug in the world. It has even been recognized as such by the Guinness Book of World Records.
The use of salicylates dates back 2,500 years to Hippocrates's recommendation of willow bark (from which a salicylate is derived) as an aid to the pains of childbirth. However, overdosage of salicylates can harm body fluids, electrolytes, the CNS, the GI tract, the ears, the lungs, the blood, the liver, and the kidneys and cause coma or death.
In 2012, nearly 24 milliion Americans, aged 12 and older, had abused an illicit drug, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Human kidneys will clean about 1 million gallons of blood in an average lifetime.
More than 150,000 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease are younger than the age of 65 years.