Chicago and 2 California Counties Sue Over Marketing of Painkillers
The City of Chicago and two California counties are challenging the drug industry’s way of doing business, contending in two separate lawsuits that “aggressive marketing” by five companies has fueled an epidemic of addiction. It also cost taxpayers millions of dollars in insurance claims and other health care costs.
The use of prescription opioids contributed to 16,651 deaths in the United States in 2010 alone, illustrating the level of severity of the matter.
The lawsuits assert that drug makers urged doctors to prescribe the drugs far beyond their traditional use to treat extreme conditions, such as acute pain after surgery or injury or cancer pain, while underplaying the high risk of addiction. Such marketing, the plaintiffs say, has contributed to widespread abuse, addiction, overdose and death.
The Chicago lawsuit cites an estimate that about 1,100 emergency room visits in the city in 2009 could be attributed to opioid abuse and overdose, with the city paying $9.5 million in insurance claims for prescriptions since 2008 and much more in related health care costs.
Source: NYT
