Almost 2 million Americans are addicted to prescription opiates; addiction is not rare

Washington Post

There is no justification for corrupting the medical evidence base, 

undermining the ethical integrity of the medical profession, 

and causing the deaths of countless patients.

There are only excuses like this one:

“Because the primary goal was to destigmatize [opioids], 

we often left evidence behind." Dr. Russell Portenoy

The primary goal of medicine is to ethically treat patients, 
using sound medical judgement.  

Sound judgement requires careful consideration of all the available evidence. 

via The Alliance for Human Research Protection:

Rising Painkiller Addiction Shows Damage From Drugmakers’ Role in Shaping Medical Opinion

Tuesday, 01 January 2013
“You could say these marketing tactics are merely concerning. But I think of them as satanic. What the data are telling us is that these drugs are ruining people’s lives,” said Phillip Prior, MD

"Below is the latest in the Washington Post series--Can Medical Research be Trusted? its focus is the continued rise in painkiller addiction and the decisive role played by corrupt pharmaceutical marketing practices.

"Of note, more than a decade ago, in 2002, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reviewed medical examiners' toxicology reports from 32 states. The DEA reported that OxyContin was involved in 464 overdose deaths, few included alcohol consumption.

"But, over much of the past decade, the official word on OxyContin was that it rarely posed problems of addiction for patients. The label on the drug, which was approved by the FDA, said the risks of addiction were “reported to be small.”The New England Journal of Medicine, the nation’s premier medical publication, informed readers that studies indicated that such painkillers pose “a minimal risk of addiction.” Another important journal study, which the manufacturer of OxyContin reprinted 10,000 times, indicated that in a trial of arthritis patients, only a handful showed withdrawal symptoms.

"Those reassuring claims, which became part of a scientific consensus, have been quietly dropped or called into question in recent years, as many in the medical profession rediscovered the destructive power of opiates. But the damage arising from those misconceptions may have been vast.

"The nation is confronting an ongoing epidemic of addiction to prescription painkillers — more widespread than cocaine or heroin — that has left nearly 2 million in its grip, according to federal statistics.

“Around here, we call it ‘pharmageddon,’ ” said Lisa Roberts, the public health nurse for the town, whose primary job is to reduce the fatalities associated with drug use. “This has been absolutely devastating to Appalachia. From what we’ve seen, the risks of addiction were tremendous.”

· “It turns out that the doctors didn’t know what they were talking about,” said Barbara Howard, whose daughter Leslie, a home-care nurse, died of an overdose in 2009 in this small Appalachian town devastated by the epidemic. She had developed a habit after knee surgery. She left behind a 9-year-old son.

· “Leslie trusted the doctors. We thought the doctors knew what was best. But they didn’t. We — and lots of the other victims — had no warning.”

“You could say these marketing tactics are merely concerning. But I think of them as satanic. What the data are telling us is that these drugs are ruining people’s lives,” said Phillip Prior, MD

"To refine its policy on opioids, the FDA convened a key meeting in 2002 and invited 10 outside experts for advice. Five of them reported having served as speakers or investigators for Purdue. Three others reported working as speakers for or as advisers and consultants to other pharmaceutical companies.

"One of those FDA advisers, Dr. Russell Portenoy, who was then the chair of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, has since expressed regret for his evangelism on behalf of opioids.

"He was “trying to create a narrative so that the primary care audience would . . . feel more comfortable about opioids,” Portenoy said in a 2010 interview, “Because the primary goal was to destigmatize [opioids], we often left evidence behind. (emphasis mine)

“To the extent that some of the adverse outcomes now are as bad as they have become in terms of endemic occurrences of addiction and unintentional overdose deaths, it’s quite scary to think about how the growth in that prescribing driven by people like me led in part to that occurring.”

"In 2003, Purdue Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of OxiContin--whose sales reached $1.3 billion--had the gall to sponsor advertisements warning about prescription drug abuse!

Vera Sharav here

By Peter Whoriskey,

Rising painkiller addiction shows damage from drugmakers’ role in shaping medical opinion

  December 30, 2012    

"Portsmouth, Ohio — Over much of the past decade, the official word on OxyContin was that it rarely posed problems of addiction for patients.

"The label on the drug, which was approved by the FDA, said the risks of addiction were “reported to be small.”

"The New England Journal of Medicine, the nation’s premier medical publication, informed readers that studies indicated that such painkillers pose “a minimal risk of addiction.”

"Another important journal study, which the manufacturer of OxyContin reprinted 10,000 times, indicated that in a trial of arthritis patients, only a handful showed withdrawal symptoms.

"Those reassuring claims, which became part of a scientific consensus, have been quietly dropped or called into question in recent years, as many in the medical profession rediscovered the destructive power of opiates. But the damage arising from those misconceptions may have been vast. 

"The nation is confronting an ongoing epidemic of addiction to prescription painkillers — more widespread than cocaine or heroin — that has left nearly 2 million in its grip, according to federal statistics." read here