The War on Painkillers
Disturbing news for people who go through life with excruciating pain and rely on painkillers to get them through the day: A federal advisory panel voted yesterday to recommend a ban on Percocet and Vicodin, due to the drugs' potentially harmful effects on the liver. The recommendation doesn't mean it will become the law of the land; the FDA still has to vote on it. And the ban wouldn't have an impact on other popular painkillers like OxyContin, so Rush Limbaugh won't have to worry about taking up another cause. For the moment, at least. [NYT]