Opioid Prescriptions Ebb but Addiction, Overdoses Still Vex U.S.
- CDC says that too many patients take painkillers for too long
- Endo pulls Opana ER after FDA tied opioid to disease outbreak
FDA Makes Opioid Abuse a Top Priority
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Opioids are prescribed less frequently than they were several years ago, but the drugs are still too easy to obtain and are taken by too many people for far too long, according to U.S. health officials.
The amount of opioid painkillers prescribed in the U.S. peaked in 2010 and declined each year through 2015, according to an analysis released by the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday. Despite that drop, opioids are prescribed about three times as much as they were in 1999, with use varying widely depending on geographic area, the agency said.