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Updated: 11:04 AM Jul 1, 2009
FDA Panel Recommends Banning Vicodin, Percocet
Concerned over potentially deadly overdoses of acetaminophen, government experts are proposing new restrictions on the most widely-used painkiller. Posted: 10:08 AM Jul 1, 2009Reporter: Associated Press |
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4 Comments 
Concerned over potentially deadly overdoses of acetaminophen, government experts are proposing new restrictions on the most widely-used painkiller.
Acetaminophen is the main ingredient in Tylenol and other popular pain killers.
An FDA advisory panel recommends reducing the maximum dose of Tylenol and eliminating prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet which combine acetaminophen with other pain killers.
Acetaminophen overdosing is the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S. It sends 56,000 people to the emergency room annually. About 200 die each year.
The panel voted against a proposal to pull NyQuil and other over-the-counter cold and cough medicines that combine acetaminophen with other drugs.
The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does.
Analyst Steve Brozak of WBB Securities said the panel votes were a "shot across the bow" of the pharmaceutical industry.
Latest Comments
I am 28 yrs old and I use vicodin for my migraines with a combination of my migraine medication, and it is the only thing i have found in ten yrs to help. People are abusing vicodin i use it as needed maybe two pills a week. People should know the type of drugs they are taking and if they don't know if they can take one pill with another then call your local pharmacist as I have done in the past.
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I am a vet and use Vicodin daily. I DO NOT and NEVER have taken more than I should. I do think that the painkillers should be regulated more than what they are though. And I know first hand that the VA is taking more steps toward regulating them. The biggest thing is that those that get the medication need to keep them away from children and teens, that is where the abuse of painkillers come in the most.
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I think the outright "banning" of these medications is rather harsh. Some people honestly do need them. For prescriptions, it would make more sense to offer fewer pills in the bottle, or limiting the number of refills. However, for over the counter meds, like NyQuil, I'm not really sure what the solution would be.
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