prescription painkiller deaths News

OxyContin Maker Will Stop Promoting Opioids to Physicians

The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin said it will stop marketing opioid drugs to doctors, bowing to a key demand of lawsuits that blame the company for helping trigger the current drug abuse epidemic. OxyContin has long been the …

Duration, Number of Refills Spell Highest Risk for Opioid Misuse After Surgery

With opioid overdoses now a leading cause of nonintentional death in the United States, data show most of these deaths can be traced back to an initial prescription opioid. A new study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical …

New Research Shows How Opioid Deaths Began With a Doctor’s Prescription

It’s been conventional wisdom for some time now that America’s opioid epidemic began at the pharmacy. Now there are numbers that put any doubt to rest. More than half of all people who succumbed to an overdose between 2001 to …

Fewer Painkiller Overdose Deaths in Florida Linked to ‘Pill Mill’ Crackdown

A crackdown on Florida’s “pill mills” – clinics dispensing large quantities of prescription painkillers often for cash-only and without proper medical examinations – appears to have dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths in the state from these drugs and …

Painkiller Deaths Increased in New York State Between 2003 and 2012

Overdose deaths involving prescription opioid painkillers in New York State increased from 2003 through 2012, according to a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released by CDC this month. Vital statistics and Medicaid claims reveal that opioid overdose death rates were …