After months of controversy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday published prescribing guidelines to address the epidemic of deaths and overdoses attributed to opioid painkillers.
The guidelines, which focus on chronic pain except for cancer and end-of-life care, arrive amid intensifying concern over the widely prescribed drugs. Every day, more than 40 Americans die from overdoses of opioid painkillers, according to the CDC. And each year, 2 million people abuse or misuse the drugs.
Many state lawmakers have responded to the crisis by introducing bills to restrict prescribing. And the Food and Drug Administration is pushing drug makers to develop more tamper-resistant products. But the CDC guidelines, while voluntary, arguably represent the most sweeping effort to address the problem.
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