Consumer Reports: FDA Should Make Painkillers Safer

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Consumer Reports is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to make painkillers safer. 

According to Consumer Reports, every day, 46 people die and more than 1,000 go to emergency rooms because they’re taking legal drugs to kill pain.

Consumer Reports says it’s time for the FDA to require mandatory training so doctors know how to prescribe opioid painkillers — like oxycodone and hydrocodone — and also how to properly monitor patients for signs of tolerance, abuse, and dependence.

According to Lisa Gill, deputy content editor of Consumer Reports, there should also be tighter regulations on acetaminophen — the main ingredient in Tylenol — because too much can lead to liver failure.  

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