[Pharmwaste] Causes of PharmWaste: false advertising conviction; dental overprescribing studies

Ed Gottlieb EGottlieb at cityofithaca.org
Tue May 28 09:10:39 EDT 2019


Stories from STAT on two contributors to pharmwaste (false advertising & overprescribing):

Teva Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=89880762a5&e=61b58803fc> the state of Oklahoma $85 million ahead of an opioid trial set to begin today. The state has accused the generics company and two other pharma companies — Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson — of downplaying the risks of taking opioids while also overstating their benefits, which caused doctors to unnecessarily prescribe the drugs. It could take up to two weeks for the terms of Teva’s settlement to be finalized. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said that the trial would still continue as planned against J&J, the only remaining defendant in the trial. Back in March, Purdue agreed to pay $270 million to Oklahoma. In a statement, Teva maintained that its settlement does not mean it is admitting to any wrongdoing.





High opioid prescription rates for dental disorders a new study<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=75b2e8ce9c&e=61b58803fc> looking at opioid prescription patterns among young adults and teens in the U.S. finds that most prescriptions came out of emergency department visits, and the most common reason was dental disorders. Some 15% of nearly 192 million ED visits between 2005 and 2015 resulted in an opioid prescription, and of these, nearly 60% were due to dental problems.



In a separate study<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=35dcd6d59d&e=61b58803fc>, researchers found that in 2016, U.S. dentists prescribed opioids at a proportion that is 37 times greater than U.K. dentists. U.S. dentists also prescribed a range of opioids, including long-acting pills, while U.K. dentists stuck to one type of opioid that was not long-acting.

Ed Gottlieb
Chair, Tompkins County Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal
Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator
Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
525 3rd Street
Ithaca, NY  14850
(607) 273-8381<tel:(607)%20273-8381>


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