Doctors, Researchers and Health Officials Call on FDA to Change Labels on Opioid Painkillers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Labels on opioid pain medications should be revised to prevent overprescribing, a broad coalition of doctors, researchers and public health officials said in a petition filed today with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If the requested changes were adopted, drug companies would not be able to claim that the pain medications are safe and effective for long-term use by non-cancer patients.

According to the petition, opioid labels are overly broad because they fail to limit opioid use to severe pain, to include a time frame for use and to specify a maximum dose. Presently, the label on opioid analgesics simply states that they’re approved for “moderate to severe pain.”

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