Ban of Pain Killers a Possibility

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Ah, days like this I’d rather blog about mac and cheese than the reality of how a simple decision can impact the lives of millions of us in chronic pain. I just don’t feel like writing anything serious. But it’s a fact of life. So here it goes…

The headline for today’s health news is “FDA Panel Urges Ban on Vicodin, Percocet”

Steve Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter, writes

The popular prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet, which combine acetaminophen with an opiate narcotic, should be banned, and the maximum dose of over-the-counter painkillers with acetaminophen, like Tylenol or Excedrin, should be lowered, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel urged Tuesday.

According to Matthew Perrone, another health reporter,

“The Food and Drug Administration assembled 37 experts to recommend ways to reduce deadly overdoses with acetaminophen, which is the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S. and sends 56,000 people to the emergency room annually. About 200 die each year.” He points out, “The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does. The agency gave no indication when it would act on the recommendations.”

Stay tuned to see what happens.

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• FDA panel: Eliminate Vicodin, Percocet (msnbc.msn.com)
• FDA urges lower doses for popular painkillers (cbc.ca)
• FDA Advisory Panel Recommends Removing Certain Prescription Painkillers From Market (somebodyhealme.dianalee.net)