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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Concerns about drug risks have led 28 state attorneys general to ask the Food and Drug Administration to reverse its approval of Zohydro, a long-acting narcotic painkiller, before the medicine is even put on the market. The risks for addiction and overdose from the potent opioid outweigh the benefits of pain relief, critics say. Some point to the risk for children, in particular. A single capsule of Zohydro could kill a kid, the medicine's instructions warn. Other opioid painkillers, such as Vicodin and Percocet, are already fixtures in America's medicine cabinets. And as the prescriptions for drugs like these have surged, so have the reports of overdoses and deaths — for children and adults. But opioids are just one kind of risky medicine. Doctors have a disturbingly long list of drugs that can lead to the death of a child after just one or two doses. "There are lots of pills that kill," says Dr. Cathleen Clancy, associate medical director for the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C. People often underestimate the risks of individual drugs and combinations of drugs for young children, she says. Pain relievers, or analgesics, are at the top of the list of drugs that poison kids. And a single dose of codeine, morphine or methadone can end a toddler's life. Acetaminophen, sold generically and under the brand name Tylenol, is a popular pain reliever for children. A single dose isn't usually a problem. But an overdose can cause liver failure and death. The drug
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