NATIONAL BRIEFING / WASHINGTON, D.C.
Government medical advisors recommended a ban on Darvon, a prescription medicine that’s been used to treat pain for more than 50 years but has left a trail of problems such as addiction and suicide.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 14 to 12 to recommend withdrawing Darvon after a daylong hearing examining its risks and benefits.
The consumer group Public Citizen had petitioned the FDA to withdraw Darvon because the drug offers relatively weak pain relief and poses an overdose risk, with the potential to be used in suicides.
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