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I long ago stopped using Consumer Reports as my go to source for whether a specific product was a good or bad buy, but I was astonished to read their recent article – “Special Report: The danger of painkillers” – published in their September 2014 issue. Their special report once again tried to stoke the flames of fear over opioid use and abuse. The article cites the staggering statistic of almost 17,000 people a year die from overdoses of opioids. While 17,000 people dying every year is indeed an eye-opening number that pales in comparison to the 35,000 who died in automobile accidents in 2013. Consumer reports goes even further to cite that for every death from opioid overdoses 30 people are admitted to the ER for complications of opioid abuse. So after doing the math that’s approximately 510,000 people admitted to the ER for opioid abuse while the National Safety Council “estimated that nearly 3.8 million people suffered crash injuries that required medical attention”. And if you consider that there are nearly 319 million people living in the United States, though 17,000 people dying of opioid abuse is tragic and sad these deaths represent not even 1% of the total population.

Does this mean these deaths should be ignored or minimize, by no means! However, in my opinion I feel that the folks at Consumer Reports should be ashamed of themselves for failing to put the statistics into perspective; but just like the Los Angeles Times they seem to have chosen the approach of fear mongering over ethical journalism. Consumer Reports even dragged out the Zohydro ER “controversy” demanding that the FDA withdraw their approval of Zohydro ER Consumer Reports mentions in their report that attorney generals from 28 states have written the FDA demanding that the FDA reconsider their decision and withdraw their approval of Zohydro ER, as well as the two bills (HR 4241- https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4241 and S 2134 – https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s2134) in Congress that if passed would ban the sale of Zohydro. GovTrack, a excellent source to keep track of legislation both at the federal and state level gives HR 4241 and S 2134 a 2% and 1% (respectfully) chance of being passed by Congress, but don’t you just love it when Congress decides to practice medicine! I know I do.

The Consumer Report article also fails to mention that what separates Zohydro ER from the rest of the opioid pack is that it contains no acetaminophen (aka Tylenol). Why is this important? Simply put, for people living with chronic pain and chronic liver issues, such as Hepatitis C, liver disease and so forth, opioids can prove problematic since acetaminophen is very hard on ones liver, thus any opioid that can provide relief from chronic pain without added acetaminophen is a safer option for those patients in the long run. And Consumer Reports failure to report this very important difference only convinces this person that the folks at Consumer Reports have strayed far afield from their core mission.

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in hearing the FDA’s rationale from their “own lips” then point your browser here – http://www.biocenturytv.com/player/3476140971001