prescription drugs news stories on Newser

Number of Opiate-Addicted Newborns Triples

Rob Quinn — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:00:00 CDT

The number of pregnant women abusing prescription drugs has soared, and babies addicted to opiates are now being born at the rate of one every hour in the US, a new study warns. Researchers found that the newborn addiction rate has tripled over the last decade, and the newborns spent...

Welcome to 'Ground Zero' for America's Pill Poppers

Mark Russell — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:28:57 CDT

A tiny coal-mining town of barely 300 people and no supermarket is home to one booming business: pharmacies. In Kermit, West Virginia, two Sav-Rites alone moved 3.2 million doses of hydrocodone in 2006—a tad more than the 97,000 doses the average pharmacy sells in a year, reports...

Painkiller Sales Exploding in New Parts of US

Kate Schwartz — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:10:06 CDT

Prescription painkiller addiction is a problem that's only getting uglier, reports the AP after analyzing a slew of DEA and pharmaceutical figures. The report focuses on sales of America's leading two prescription painkillers: oxycodone (the key ingredient in OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan) and hydrocodone (Vicodin, Norco, and Lortab). Among its...

Make Birth Control Over the Counter

Kevin Spak — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:37:45 CST

The controversy over oral contraceptives raises one obvious question: Why the heck aren't they available over the counter? "True, making the pill available over the counter could reduce the amount of outrage and invective available for entertaining radio audiences," Virginia Postrel of Bloomberg quips. "But the medical risks are quite...

We Should Pay for Drugs Only If They Work

Kevin Spak — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:56:28 CST

Medical costs, and especially drug costs, are scandalously high in the US, but just capping them isn't the answer, biotech exec Samuel Waksal writes in the New York Times . "Individuals and insurance companies should be willing to pay—and pay a lot—for drugs when they work," he argues. "The...

Probe Launched Into Whitney's Prescriptions, Doctors

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:46:00 CST

The investigation into Whitney Houston's death is now turning to her doctors and pharmacies. Investigators are expected in the next few days to serve subpoenas on the singer's physicians and the pharmacies where Houston obtained multiple prescription drugs, reports the Los Angeles Times . Officials aim to determine whether the drugs...

A Growing Problem in US: Prescription Drug ODs

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:11:00 CST

It will likely be weeks before we know the official cause of Whitney Houston's death, but the fact that bottles of Xanax, Valium, and Ativan were found in her room is shining a light on the dangers of prescription drug abuse, and the real risk of accidental overdose. An estimated...

TMZ: Houston May Have Drowned in Tub

Mark Russell — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:29:14 CST

Specifics are still sketchy in yesterday's sudden death of Whitney Houston . But here's what's beginning to trickle in: Houston was found by a member of her entourage on the floor of her Beverly Hills hotel room around 3:30pm, reports the LA Times . Paramedics were called at 3:43pm, and...

Con Artist Launched Google Sting for Feds

Matt Cantor — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:20:00 CST

Last year, a federal sting against Google resulted in a record settlement—and at the heart of the operation was a convicted con man. Working with federal agents—and still wearing leg irons—David Whitaker set up a fake online pharmacy claiming to sell illegal drugs, and Google helped him...