Indiana Accident News

FDA Recommends Banning Vicodin and Percocet Painkillers

Could prescription painkillers be killers? According to a recent vote by a US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) panel, many government safety officials agree that powerful drugs that combine the common painkiller acetaminophen with narcotic drugs too often lead to liver failure and other related health problems. The FDA panel voted 20-17 that powerful painkillers like Vicodin and Percocet should be taken off the market in the interest of public health.

Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in medicines like Tylenol and Excedrin, is one of the most widely used drugs in America - for both over the counter and prescription uses. But it is also the most common reason for liver failure across the country.

While some FDA panelists pointing to the large number of accident overdose deaths involving Vicodin and Percocet, others noted how many people used the drugs successfully to control chronic, severe pain for health issues like arthritis, back pain, and fibromyalgia. Although the FDA is not required to follow through with the vote of the panel, the government organization usually does do as the officials recommend.

Some of the drugs under discussion have been on the market for half a century - and many take Tylonol-based medications because they are easier on the stomach than other types of painkillers. The panel also voted to lower the maximum daily dose of this family of drugs.

Finally, the panel recommended not to take a handful of cough syrups, such as Procter & Gamble's NyQuil or Novartis' Theraflu, both of which contain acetaminophen and both of which are involved in about ten percent of acetaminophen overdose deaths each year.

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