Pubdate: Wed, 02 Mar 2005
Source: Red Bluff Daily News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Red Bluff Daily News
Contact:  http://redbluffdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1079
Author:  John Chase
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/opiates (opiates)

OPIATES ARE 'GOLD STANDARD' FOR RELIEF

Editor:

Re: Your Feb. 26th reprint of "The Price of Health and Painkillers" from 
the Salt Lake City Tribune.

Yes, one thing badly needed is to stop those abominable "Ask your doctor if 
____ is right for you" ads. Action is also needed at the other end of the 
drug advertising spectrum the absolute silence on opiates as painkillers.

Opiates are the gold standard of pain relief. They are not harmful to any 
organs if taken as prescribed. There is a risk of addiction, but it is very 
slight unless the patient has a history of abusing other drugs. If a 
patient reacts badly to the NSAID and COX-2 painkillers, and has no history 
of drug abuse, the doctor should consider opiates.

The media has not done a good job of reporting on this. According to the 
AMA (American Medical Association), "Unbalanced and misleading media 
coverage on the abuse of opioid analgesics not only perpetuates 
misconceptions about pain management; it also compromises the access to 
adequate pain relief sought by over 75 million Americans living with pain." 
See www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/11541.html.

John Chase, Palm Harbor, Fla.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom