Personal Injury Law

AP Study Shows U.S. Painkiller Purchases Almost Double

By Courtney Mills

According to a recent study of DEA statistics carried out by the Associated Press, consumers have nearly doubled the amount of money spent on narcotic analgesics between 1997 and 2005.

According to the study, the consumption of five major painkillers - codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and meperidine - rose 88 percent between 1997 and 2005. Oxycontin is primarily responsible for that increase in painkiller use. This drug's use has jumped nearly six fold according to the report in that time frame.

The AP cited several reasons for the increase in painkiller use: aging populations, marketing campaigns by drug companies, changes in pain management philosophy by doctors, and abuse of/addiction to opiate analgesics.

Full post as published by West Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer on August 20, 2007 (boomark / email).