Our Views

A recent NPR news item said that Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal petitioned the FDA to force drug companies to add black box warnings to prescription drugs that could be harmful. His petition was motivated by the incidence of OxyContin addiction and abuse, and was filed three years ago. Good for him – getting on the bandwagon early. I would think that the Purdue Pharma hearings will give it more weight for both OxyContin and other drugs that are the subject of rising prescription drug addiction and abuse statistics.

However, I’m not sure the black box system – warnings on packaging about the dangers of the drugs are bordered with a black box – is doing much to handle the problems. For example, the FDA ordered black-box warnings on antidepressants for children and adolescents, but more young people are being prescribed these drugs.

I think it’s going to take more than black boxes to really get the point across. It’s going to doctors who won’t prescribe the drugs, an educated public that won’t ask for them, and those who already have problems with prescription drug addiction recognizing that they have a problem, and they need to get into a drug detox center and possibly rehab to resolve it.

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