Michael Jackson's death in 2009 was traced to drug overdose. Other celebrities like singer Amy Winehouse and actor Heath Ledger too were possibly victims of the same ruinous habit. Whitney Houston, whose brilliant career nosedived after she became addicted to drugs, recently lost her life. Painkillers, sleeping pills, stress busters - these are all completely legal prescription medicines. But taken for the wrong reasons - to cope with stress, "feel better" or to just get a high - these can prove to be lethal. This is not exactly a new problem but it is acquiring scary dimensions in the Western world. Studies prove that every year more people are dying from prescription drug abuse than the use of heroin and cocaine combined. Sadly, say doctors, prescription drug abuse is also on the rise in India. Though the trend is not openly discussed, doctors estimate a three-fold increase in the practice over the past five years.