TV shows like "Will and Grace" take a disturbingly lighthearted approach to the issue of prescription-drug abuse, doctors say.

Newsday reported April 17 that the pill-popping of characters like Karen Walker on "Will and Grace" gets poor reviews from addiction experts like David Crausman, director of the Center for Healthful Living in Beverly Hills, Calif.

"It's not a joke at all," said Crausman. "It depicts a woman who's held hostage to her addiction. They're not showing her when she doesn't get her pain pill, when she doesn't have the alcohol. How she gets diarrhea, how she starts vomiting, how her skin will crawl, her legs will cramp. They don't show that, because that's not cute."

Concern about such portrayals is rising along with the problem of prescription drug abuse. Prescription drugs "are often discussed in a real casual manner, almost as if there's real acceptance, whether it's prescribed or not," said Marvin Seppala, chief medical officer at the Hazelden Foundation. "I don't think the media equate addiction to prescribed pain medication with addiction to heroin. But they're the same class of medication, just as powerful. In fact, some are more powerful."

Some programs have treated the issue more seriously. CBS' "Without a Trace" has included a storyline about an FBI agent's struggle with a prescription-drug addiction. And the popular "House" also deals occasionally with the lead character's drug problems.

"It's not a show about addiction, but you can't throw something like this into the mix and not expect it to be noticed and commented on," said "House" executive producer David Shore. "There have been references to the amount of his consumption increasing over time. It's becoming less and less useful a tool for dealing with his pain, and it's something we're going to continue to deal with, continue to explore."