What Experts are Saying

The dangers posed by OxyContin addiction are becoming widely cited in the press and by respected experts in medicine, medical research, and law enforcement.

Medical Professionals

"Purdue Pharma supports and maintains a website which discusses pain and promotes its product. Unfortunately, it also uses this site to misinform healthcare providers and patients about the risks of use of OxyContin. The website is called 'Partners Against Pain,' and includes articles such as 'A Guide to Your New Pain Medication and How to Become a Partner Against Pain.' This article followed the 'Frequently Asked Questions' format and asked, 'Aren't opioid pain medications like OxyContin tablets "addicting?" Even my family is concerned about this.'

"Purdue proffered the following mischaracterization of addiction: 'Drug addiction means using a drug to get "high" rather than to relieve pain. You are taking opioid pain medication for medical purposes. The medical purposes are clear and the effects are beneficial, not harmful. True addiction rarely occurs when opioids are being used properly under medical supervision to relieve pain.'

"The 'guide to patients' misleads patients into believing their motivation for taking OxyContin (i.e., for pain instead of to 'get high') is the sole determinant of whether they are or will become, addicted to their pain medication."

"In 2001, in another question and answer section of the website, under the heading 'Patient/Caregiver,' Partners Against Pain declared: 'When you feel pain, your pain is realRemember: You have every right to ask (doctors and nurses) to help you relieve the pain as much as possible.' This answer is self-serving and scientifically flawedImplying that patients have a right to as much opioid as they wish minimizes the risk of addiction and perpetuates misinformation about addiction and pain perception."

— Dr. David S. Egilman,
highly-respected medical doctor and expert in medical
and scientific knowledge at Brown University

Researchers

With respect to OxyContin, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned Purdue Pharma about its unlawful marketing representations in communications sent in May 2000, August 2001 and January 2003, when it once again sent a formal Warning Letter. The Warning Letter stated:

"Your journal advertisements are misleading because they make prominent claims of effectiveness for pain relief, but omit from the body of advertisements crucial facts related to the serious, potentially fatal safety risks associated with the risks of OxyContin to be abused, and the limitations on its appropriate indicated use."

— Thomas Abrams,
Director, FDA Division of Drug Marketing,
Advertising and Communications

Law Enforcement

"I found Oxycontin to be the most addictive drug with the people I've come in contact with in 20 years of police work."

— Sgt. Ken Pedigo, Task Force member
Fairfax County (Virginia)



What Experts are Saying The dangers posed by OxyContin addiction are becoming widely cited in the press and by respected experts in medicine, medical research, and law enforcement. Medical Professionals "Purdue Pharma supports and maintains a website which discusses pain and promotes its product. Unfortunately, it also uses this site to misinform healthcare providers and patients about the risks of use of OxyContin. The website is called 'Partners Against Pain,' and includes articles such as 'A Guide to Your New Pain Medication and How to Become a Partner Against Pain.' This article followed the 'Frequently Asked Questions' format and asked, 'Aren't opioid pain medications like OxyContin tablets "addicting?" Even my family is concerned about this.' "Purdue proffered the following mischaracterization of addiction: 'Drug addiction means using a drug to get "high" rather than to relieve pain. You are taking opioid pain medication for medical purposes. The medical purposes are clear and the effects are beneficial, not harmful. True addiction rarely occurs when opioids are being used properly under medical supervision to relieve pain.' "The 'guide to patients' misleads patients into believing their motivation for taking OxyContin (i.e., for pain instead of to 'get high') is the sole determinant of whether they are or will become, addicted to their pain medication." "In 2001, in another question and answer section of the website, under the heading 'Patient/Caregiver,' Partners Against Pain declared: 'When you feel pain, your pain is realRemember: You have every right to ask (doctors and nurses) to help you relieve the pain as much as possible.' This answer is self-serving and scientifically flawedImplying that patients have a right to as much opioid as they wish minimizes the risk of addiction and perpetuates misinformation about addiction and pain perception." — Dr. David S. Egilman, highly-respected medical doctor and expert in medical and scientific knowledge at Brown University Researchers With respect to OxyContin, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned Purdue Pharma about its unlawful marketing representations in communications sent in May 2000, August 2001 and January 2003, when it once again sent a formal Warning Letter. The Warning Letter stated: "Your journal advertisements are misleading because they make prominent claims of effectiveness for pain relief, but omit from the body of advertisements crucial facts related to the serious, potentially fatal safety risks associated with the risks of OxyContin to be abused, and the limitations on its appropriate indicated use." — Thomas Abrams, Director, FDA Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications Law Enforcement "I found Oxycontin to be the most addictive drug with the people I've come in contact with in 20 years of police work." — Sgt. Ken Pedigo, Task Force member Fairfax County (Virginia)	News Room The Issue OxyContin Fact Sheet An Unknown Epidemic Misrepresentation Aggressive Marketing FDA Rule Violations Failure to Reform New Threats Foreseen OxyContin FAQ What Experts Say Medical Professionals Researchers Law Enforcement Victim's Stories James Bowen Christopher Czarnocki Dianne Davidoff Michael Finke Bonna Gibson Russell Ginsberg Emerson Greeson Chelly Griffith Rush Limbaugh Thomas Lucas Deborah Mobley John Sachs William Stelcher Ernesto Williams Time to Take Action