article_snippet: But both men, the doting fathers of little girls, died just years apart from the same phenomenon - the abuse of prescription drugs, described as an epidemic in Australia by anti-drug abuse groups.
article_snippet: Heath Ledger, pictured, died after consuming six pharmaceutical medications in August 2008 . '
article_snippet: his son accidentally died around two years earlier after his son consumed a lethal cocktail of six prescription medications.
article_snippet: In a statement, Mr Ledger said Mr Ledger son's profile was probably 'a little higher than many other loved ones' who had experienced tragic deaths from prescription drug abuse. '
article_snippet: Mr Ledger died of an overdose in August 2008 after consuming a lethal cocktail of six different prescription medications.
article_snippet: Scriptwise said pharmaceutical drugs were linked to 82 per cent of overdose deaths in regional Victoria in 2013 alone.