Local officials are praising a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week to add a warning to certain prescription painkillers letting people know about the dangers of using them during pregnancy.
By Alton Strupp, The Courier-Journal
These long-acting or extended-release opioids can cause neonatal abstinence syndrome, in which babies suffer withdrawal because of a mother’s use.
Kentucky has seen its hospitalizations for newborns suffering neonatal abstinence syndrome climb from 29 in 2000 to 730 last year. The state’s 2,400 percent increase dwarfs by comparison a disturbing national rise of 330 percent found in a study that examined hospitalizations from 2000 to 2009.
The FDA made the change after being contacted by 43 state attorneys general, including Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who co-chairs the National Association of Attorneys General Substance Abuse Committee.
“I applaud the FDA for making this change that will better alert physicians and patients about the dangerous consequences of using these powerful prescription painkillers during pregnancy,” said Conway, a Democrat. “The warning labels on long-acting and extended-release opioid analgesics are a good first step, and I hope similar labels will one day be included on all opioid prescriptions.”
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, also praised the decision.
“In Kentucky, the pain pill epidemic has destroyed thousands of lives and ravaged communities in all 120 counties of our Commonwealth. I continue to hear heartbreaking stories from constituents about individuals who needlessly lost loved ones to opiate drug overdose. The problem is so acute that more Kentuckians die from drug overdose than from car accidents each year,” McConnell said. “Today’s announcement by the FDA is another positive step forwards in efforts to fight painkiller abuse in Kentucky.”
