WATERLOO - The state has kicked off a campaign to combat prescription drug abuse in Iowa teens.

The campaign, called "Take a Dose of Truth," will include TV and radio public service announcements and tools for parents and professionals at www.TakeADoseOfTruth.com. The effort is funded by a federal grant.

Gary Kendell, director of the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy, said prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse has been on the rise for the past several years, in part because teens see it as a safe alternative to street drugs.

"They can steal it from their parents or get it from friends. We think that's one of the main reasons they're so appealing to young people," he said.

A 2008 Iowa youth study found that 7 percent of Iowa 11th-graders said they had misused prescription drugs in the previous 30 days. Nationally, it is estimated one in five teens have abused prescription drugs to get high.

At Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, 94 of the 111 drug and alcohol overdoses reported at the children's emergency center between June 15 and Dec. 15, 2008, involved prescription or over-the-counter medications.

"It's clearly a problem in Iowa, and it's hard to prevent because (the drugs are) legal," Kendell said.