FDA Proposes Tighter Control on Hydrocone Containing Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is preparing a proposal for tighter control on narcotic hydrocodone products in an effort to end painkiller abuse in the country. 

The agency wants hydrocodone combination products to be reclassified as Schedule II drugs. The drugs being discussed in the statement contain hydrocodone along with a common painkiller such as acetaminophen or aspirin. The painkiller is currently a "Schedule III" drug and is available under brand names like Vicodin or under generic names.

Doctors use these drugs to relieve pain in people with arthritis, the New York Times reported. The move could mean that these drugs could be as tightly regulated as powerful drugs such as Oxycontin.

Appropriate use of opioid analgesic drug products can help people manage pain.

"However, in recent years, the FDA has become increasingly concerned about the abuse and misuse of opioid products, which have sadly reached epidemic proportions in certain parts of the United States," the agency said in a statement.

FDA plans to submit a formal recommendation package to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reclassify hydrocodone combination products. The final decision regarding the regulation of the drug combination will be taken by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the agency's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research told the New York Times that the agency is aware of the problems that the reclassification would cause.

"These are very difficult trade-offs that our society has to make," she added. "The reason we approve these drugs is for people in pain. But we can't ignore the epidemic on the other side."

Prescription drug abuse or use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes is a serious threat to public health. According to Medline Plus, an estimated 20 percent of the people in the U.S have abused prescription drugs like painkillers. The National Institute for Drug Abuse says that unintentional overdose deaths due to prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999 and these now outnumber overdoses from hardcore drugs like heroin and cocaine combined.