Panel Turns Down FDA Proposal To Control Prescription Narcotic Painkillers
An FDA (Food and Drug Administration), USA Advisory Committee voted 25 to 10 against a proposal to reduce the abuse and misuse of long-acting narcotic painkillers, such as OxyContin or Vicodin. Although the Advisory Committee’s recommendations are not binding the FDA usually follows them when making a regulatory decision. The Committee’s main reason for turning the proposal down, they say, was because it did not insist that doctors undergo training in the proper use of long-acting narcotics.