Public Citizen Sues FDA over Failure to Act on Deadly Painkiller
The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen is suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration claiming the prescription painkiller sold as Darvon and Darvocet is too risky to remain on the market. Since 1981 more than 2,000 deaths have been associated with the drug, generically known as propoxyphene. Public Citizen originally petitioned the FDA two years ago seeking a ban on the drug, saying it was no more effective than safer painkillers. Public Citizen filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington arguing that the FDA has violated the law by not ruling on its petition within the required six months. Propoxyphene is addictive and can cause slowed heart beat and other serious cardiac issues even when the proper dosage is ingested. Health Officials in the U.K. have already ordered the drug to be phased out in 2005 citing a few hundred accidental deaths and suicides a year associated with the drugs use. In the U.S. propoxyphene still remains one of the most widely prescribed generic drugs.
