A few stories on opioids caught my eye. First, one about methadone, pain and class: Map the deaths and you see the story. Assign a dot to each person who has died in Washington by accidentally overdosing on methadone, a commonly prescribed drug used to treat chronic pain. Since 2003, there are 2,173 of these … Continue reading Pain, meds and money
Tag: bad evidence watch
Smoking-pill suicides overlooked
Yikes! Hundreds of reports of suicides, psychotic reactions and other serious problems tied to the popular stop-smoking drug Chantix were left out of a crucial government safety review because Pfizer Inc., the drug’s manufacturer, submitted years of data through “improper channels.” Some 150 suicides — more than doubling those previously known — were among 589 … Continue reading Smoking-pill suicides overlooked
a curious lack of skepticism
The American Scholar has a brutal take-down of the relationship between drug companies and medical journals. Flimsy plastic pens that scream the virtues of Vioxx and articles published in the pages of The New England Journal of Medicine would seem to mark the two poles of medical influence. Scarcely any doctor admits to being influenced by the … Continue reading a curious lack of skepticism