USA. Purdue Pharma’s Sales Pitch Downplayed Risks Of Opioid Addiction
USA. Purdue Pharma’s Sales Pitch Downplayed Risks Of Opioid Addiction
Two decades ago, Purdue Pharma produced thousands of brochures and videos that urged patients with chronic pain to ask their physicians for opioids such as OxyContin, arguing that concerns over addiction and other dangers from the drugs were overblown, company records reveal.
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More than 1,500 pending civil lawsuits, filed mostly by state and local governments, allege that deceptive marketing claims helped fuel a national epidemic of opioid addiction and thousands of overdose deaths.
This week, the New York attorney general’s office filed another suit that accuses Purdue of operating a “public nuisance” in it sales tactics and marketing of opioids. Like many others, the suit demands compensation for addiction treatment costs and other problems. Purdue and other drugmakers have denied all allegations. (Kaiser Health News, 17.08.2018)
https://khn.org/news/purdue-pharma-sales-pitch-downplayed-risks-of-opioid-addiction