Health News
- States And Their Congressmen Battling New Painkiller That Is Easier To Crush And Inject
Some states are restricting the use of the new painkiller Zohydro, "setting up a showdown with the federal government over who gets to decide the best way to protect public health," Michael Ollove reports for Stateline. Rogers (Herald-Leader photo)Though...
- 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,...
- Fda Wants To Limit Number Of Hydrocodone Refills Available Without Another Doctor Visit; Approves Pure Version Of Drug
"The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended tighter controls on how doctors prescribe the most commonly used narcotic painkillers, changes that are expected to take place as early as next year," Barry Meier reports for The New York Times....
- Fda Could Require Tamper-resistant Painkillers; Without Such Action, Prescription-drug Abuse Problem Would Worsen
UPDATE, Jan. 14 : Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal reports, "Addicts by the scores used to get a quick and easy high from snorting or shooting up the powerful narcotic OxyContin ? until manufacturer Purdue Pharma developed a new version that?s harder...
- Prescription Drug Abuse Is An Epidemic Nationwide And In Ky.
Prescription pain medicine overdoses now kill more people in the U.S. than heroin and cocaine combined, with 40 Americans dying every day from painkiller abuse. "This stems from a few irresponsible doctors," said Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers...
Health News
Pure hydrocodone pain pill in testing; critics worry about abuse
A new pain pill, one more powerful than OxyContin and 10 times stronger than Vicodin, is being tested on patients by four drug companies and could be out as early as 2013. The new medicine, which is a pure form of hydrocodone, has law enforcement in Eastern Kentucky worried, reports Ralph B. Davis of the Floyd County Times.
"In my personal opinion, a drug like that shouldn't be a prescription medication," Floyd County Coroner Greg Nelson told the Times. "It should strictly be an in-house medication."
Drug maker Zogenix of San Diego plans to apply early next year to begin marketing Zohydro, a time-released drug intended to manage moderate to severe pain, reports Chris Hawley of The Associated Press. The drug has completed three rounds of testing.
Critics worry abusers will simply crush the pill to get an intense, immediate high. "I have a big concern that this could be the next OxyContin," said April Rovero, president of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse.
The companies defend the drug by saying pure hydrocodone "would avoid liver problems linked to high doses of acetaminophen, an ingredient in products like Vicodin," Hawley reports. "They also say patients will be more closely supervised because, by law, they will have to return to their doctors each time they need more pills."
But critics remain unconvinced and are worried about the larger ramifications of the pills being on the market. "Hydrocodone abuse is already a tremendous problem in Southern and Eastern Kentucky," Karen Kelly, executive director of the government-funded anti-drug program UNITE, told Davis. "When used properly, these medications help many who are experiencing moderate to severe pain. Unfortunately, we have seen how easily the system can be abused."
Davis expressed his own views in an editorial that ran earlier this week. "The pharmaceutical companies developing Zohydro and other copycat drugs clearly must know that their products will kill people," he wrote. "They see it happening every single day. And they have been warned that the problem is growing worse."
Davis referred to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that in 2008, an average of 40 people a day in the United States died as a result of prescription painkiller overdoses, a 400 percent increase over 10 years. "Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical companies raked in billions in profits, and financial speculators are taking note," Davis writes. "Since stories about concerns over Zohydro first began appearing over the weekend, Zogenix's stock has skyrocketing nearly 70 percent ... To put it bluntly, this is horrifying." (Read more)
- States And Their Congressmen Battling New Painkiller That Is Easier To Crush And Inject
Some states are restricting the use of the new painkiller Zohydro, "setting up a showdown with the federal government over who gets to decide the best way to protect public health," Michael Ollove reports for Stateline. Rogers (Herald-Leader photo)Though...
- 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,...
- Fda Wants To Limit Number Of Hydrocodone Refills Available Without Another Doctor Visit; Approves Pure Version Of Drug
"The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended tighter controls on how doctors prescribe the most commonly used narcotic painkillers, changes that are expected to take place as early as next year," Barry Meier reports for The New York Times....
- Fda Could Require Tamper-resistant Painkillers; Without Such Action, Prescription-drug Abuse Problem Would Worsen
UPDATE, Jan. 14 : Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal reports, "Addicts by the scores used to get a quick and easy high from snorting or shooting up the powerful narcotic OxyContin ? until manufacturer Purdue Pharma developed a new version that?s harder...
- Prescription Drug Abuse Is An Epidemic Nationwide And In Ky.
Prescription pain medicine overdoses now kill more people in the U.S. than heroin and cocaine combined, with 40 Americans dying every day from painkiller abuse. "This stems from a few irresponsible doctors," said Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers...