Health News
Pain Killer Could be Banned
February 28, 2006
Critics of pain medication are asking the government to ban certain pain killing drugs. Darvon, Darvocet and related painkillers were associated with at least 2,110 deaths in between 1981 and 1999. The Public Citizen's Health Research Group says several hundred more have died each year accidentally after taking the drugs. The group plans to submit a petition to the FDA Commissioner.
Propoxyphene, is a relatively weak painkiller and poses an unacceptable toxic risk to the millions of patients who consume the painkiller each year. An analysis of 26 studies that compared propoxyphene and acetaminophen with just acetaminophen or a dummy pill found the "narcotic combination offered little benefit over acetaminophen alone" in treating pain. The body transforms propoxyphene into norpropoxyphene, which can build up in the body and is associated with a variety of heart problems, including arrhythmia.