Health News
- Rogers, Other Drug-caucus Chair File Bill To Reverse Fda's Approval Of New Painkiller; Competing Company Has Alternative
Illustration from PainAndDepression.comU.S. Reps. Hal Rogers of Somerset and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts have introduced a bill to withdraw federal approval of a new formulation of hydrocodone that is highly addictive and produced in crushable pills,...
- Highly Addictive, Crushable Pain Killer To Be Released This Month; Political Leaders Beg Fda To Reconsider Its Decision
A new narcotic pain pill is set to be released to the market this month, and critics are begging the Food and Drug Administration to reverse its decision, fearing its addictive qualities and overdose potential, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal....
- Prescription Drugs Killing More Women Than Ever; Kentucky Ties For Fifth For Its High Percentage Of Deaths
The ongoing national epidemic of addiction to prescription painkillers is spreading more quickly among women, and it is killing more women than ever before. Kentucky ties Utah for the fifth highest percentage of female deaths due to prescription-drug...
- Deaths By Overdose, Mainly Of Prescription Drugs, Hit A New Record In U.s. In 2011; A Huge Problem In Kentucky
Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. rose for the 11th straight year and accidental deaths involving addictive prescription drugs overshadow deaths from illicit narcotics, new federal data show. In 2010, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide,...
- Generic Oxycontin And Opana, Headed For Market Soon, Could Make Fight Against Pain-pill Abuse Tougher, Mcconnell Says
With generic versions of the two most commonly-abused painkillers, Opana and OxyContin, coming on the market next year, police, hospitals and health clinics in Kentucky have voiced concern that "these generic crushable drugs lack the tamper-resistant...
Health News
Conway, other AGs ask FDA to require generic prescription pain pills to be abuse-resistant, tamper-resistant
Generic versions of popular pain relievers must be made harder to abuse, in order to curb prescription drug abuse that is epidemic in many states, Attorney General Jack Conway and 47 other attorneys general said in a letter sent to federal officials Monday.
The National Association of Attorneys General letter encourages the Food and Drug Administration to adopt standards requiring manufacturers and marketers of generic prescription painkillers to develop tamper- and abuse-resistant versions of their products, because the attorneys general are concerned that non-medical users are shifting to non-tamper-resistant formulations of generic opioids.
?Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic that kills more than 1,000 Kentuckians each year,? Conway, who co-chairs NAAG?s Substance Committee, said in a news release. ?The development of tamper-resistant and abuse-deterrent opioid drug products is a valuable aid to the law enforcement, legislative and public awareness initiatives many of us have implemented in our states to combat prescription drug abuse.?
Prescription drugs can be deadly when abused, and fatal drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death due to unintentional injury in the United States and Kentucky, exceeding even motor vehicle deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal data show that U.S. drug overdose deaths totaled 38,329 in 2010, rising for the 11th straight year, and accidental deaths involving addictive prescription drugs overshadow deaths from illicit narcotics.
In Kentucky, the number of drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky rose a staggering 296 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. Kentucky is one of the most medicated states in the country, and has the sixth highest overdose rate. Last year, 220 million doses of the highly addictive painkiller hydrocodone were dispensed in the state -- that?s 51 doses for every man, woman and child in the state, says the AG release.
The news release from Conway's office said he led the effort to reach out to the FDA, along with Attorneys General Luther Strange of Alabama, Pam Bondi of Florida and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Click here to read the letter; for a news release, click here.
The National Association of Attorneys General letter encourages the Food and Drug Administration to adopt standards requiring manufacturers and marketers of generic prescription painkillers to develop tamper- and abuse-resistant versions of their products, because the attorneys general are concerned that non-medical users are shifting to non-tamper-resistant formulations of generic opioids.
?Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic that kills more than 1,000 Kentuckians each year,? Conway, who co-chairs NAAG?s Substance Committee, said in a news release. ?The development of tamper-resistant and abuse-deterrent opioid drug products is a valuable aid to the law enforcement, legislative and public awareness initiatives many of us have implemented in our states to combat prescription drug abuse.?
Prescription drugs can be deadly when abused, and fatal drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death due to unintentional injury in the United States and Kentucky, exceeding even motor vehicle deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal data show that U.S. drug overdose deaths totaled 38,329 in 2010, rising for the 11th straight year, and accidental deaths involving addictive prescription drugs overshadow deaths from illicit narcotics.
In Kentucky, the number of drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky rose a staggering 296 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. Kentucky is one of the most medicated states in the country, and has the sixth highest overdose rate. Last year, 220 million doses of the highly addictive painkiller hydrocodone were dispensed in the state -- that?s 51 doses for every man, woman and child in the state, says the AG release.
The news release from Conway's office said he led the effort to reach out to the FDA, along with Attorneys General Luther Strange of Alabama, Pam Bondi of Florida and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Click here to read the letter; for a news release, click here.
- Rogers, Other Drug-caucus Chair File Bill To Reverse Fda's Approval Of New Painkiller; Competing Company Has Alternative
Illustration from PainAndDepression.comU.S. Reps. Hal Rogers of Somerset and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts have introduced a bill to withdraw federal approval of a new formulation of hydrocodone that is highly addictive and produced in crushable pills,...
- Highly Addictive, Crushable Pain Killer To Be Released This Month; Political Leaders Beg Fda To Reconsider Its Decision
A new narcotic pain pill is set to be released to the market this month, and critics are begging the Food and Drug Administration to reverse its decision, fearing its addictive qualities and overdose potential, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal....
- Prescription Drugs Killing More Women Than Ever; Kentucky Ties For Fifth For Its High Percentage Of Deaths
The ongoing national epidemic of addiction to prescription painkillers is spreading more quickly among women, and it is killing more women than ever before. Kentucky ties Utah for the fifth highest percentage of female deaths due to prescription-drug...
- Deaths By Overdose, Mainly Of Prescription Drugs, Hit A New Record In U.s. In 2011; A Huge Problem In Kentucky
Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. rose for the 11th straight year and accidental deaths involving addictive prescription drugs overshadow deaths from illicit narcotics, new federal data show. In 2010, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide,...
- Generic Oxycontin And Opana, Headed For Market Soon, Could Make Fight Against Pain-pill Abuse Tougher, Mcconnell Says
With generic versions of the two most commonly-abused painkillers, Opana and OxyContin, coming on the market next year, police, hospitals and health clinics in Kentucky have voiced concern that "these generic crushable drugs lack the tamper-resistant...