MARKEY, HATCH PUSH FOR OPIOID WARNING
Bipartisan bill would mandate labels on prescribed painkillers
U.S. Sens. Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Orrin Hatch of Utah are pushing a bipartisan bill to slap warning labels on all prescription painkiller bottles, nationwide.
“Because of the confusing names and ingredients, many families may not know that they have just left the pharmacy with a bottle full of danger,” Markey said yesterday.
Hatch’s own state, Utah, is among the three states that legally mandate cautionary labels on prescription opioids. Arizona and Hawaii also enforce warning stickers and caps.
Patients cannot solely depend on their doctors to educate them about the risks of taking painkillers, Markey said.
“The American Medical Association is still opposing national physician education on the dispensing of opioids,” Markey said. “If there’s not going to be mandatory physician education, the least we could give is patient education.”
The Massachusetts Medical Society, on the other hand, supports mandatory physician training around addiction. Dr. Dennis M. Dimitri, chairman of the group’s task force against opioid abuse, called labeling a “very valuable additional tool.”
Cory Palazzi, 30, was first prescribed opioids as a teen after undergoing surgery on his shoulder for a baseball injury. His mother, Lori Gonsalves, said she never imagined that the medication could open the door to addiction.
“Honestly, 12 years ago, I thought it was OK to give my son this medication because it was prescribed by a doctor. It did not even cross my mind that these drugs were addicting,” she said.
Palazzi said once he started popping pills, he was hooked.
“I immediately knew that I was addicted,” he said.
Palazzi eventually turned to heroin, and a 2013 overdose left him with a permanent disability. He said warning labels are a critical step toward educating the public about the risks of opioids.
“It is probably one of the most important things, especially for young teenage kids, because I don’t want anybody else to end up in the same position I’m in,” he said.