FDA Panel: Eliminate Vicodin, Similar Drugs

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Updated: 4:59 PM Jun 30, 2009 FDA Panel: Eliminate Vicodin, Similar Drugs Government experts say prescription drugs like Vicodin and Percocet that combine a popular painkiller with stronger narcotics should be eliminated because of their role in deadly overdoses. Posted: 2:59 PM Jun 30, 2009 Reporter: AP

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Government experts say prescription drugs like Vicodin and Percocet that combine a popular painkiller with stronger narcotics should be eliminated because of their role in deadly overdoses.

A Food and Drug Administration panel voted 20-17 that prescription drugs that combine acetaminophen with other painkilling ingredients should be pulled off the market.

The FDA has assembled a group of experts to vote on ways to reduce liver damage associated with acetaminophen, one of the most widely used drugs in the U.S.

Panelists cited FDA data indicating 60 percent of acetaminophen-related deaths are related to prescription products. Acetaminophen is more commonly found in over-the-counter medications like Tylenol and Excedrin.

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