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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: painkiller

painkiller stories: 28 news summaries

1 - 20 of 28 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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BBC Journo Stuns Brown with Pill-Popping Question

Labor furious after interviewer follows up Internet rumors

Sep 28, 09 3:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Gordon Brown's office and the British Labor Party are furious with the BBC after the host of the channel's flagship political program asked the prime minister if he took prescription painkillers. Downing Street had already denied the rumor, which began on the Internet. A shocked Brown responded: "No! I... More »

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BBC • Gordon Brown • Labour • Labour Party • painkiller • Andrew Marr • prescription painkillers

(Newser) - A British doctor friend of Michael Jackson fired off a letter to President Obama—or "Barack," as she calls him—pleading for tougher laws for "unethical doctors" who ply patients with drugs. Dr. Susan Etok, who says she turned down more than $800,000 from the King... More »

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Barack Obama • drug addiction • doctor • painkiller • Michael Jackson • prescription painkillers

 Jackson 
 'Self-Harmed' 
 to Get Drugs 

Singer was spending $50K a month on prescriptions

Aug 19, 09 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Toward the end of his life Michael Jackson was so desperate for prescription drugs, sources tell investigators he harmed himself in an effort to get more, the Mirror reports. Jackson was reportedly spending nearly $50,000 a month on drugs including Vicodin, Soma, Xanax, Zoloft, Paxil, and Prilosec, and... More »

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entertainment • drug addiction • celebrity • addiction • painkiller • Michael Jackson • prescription painkillers • celebrity death

(Newser) - Connecticut Republicans protesting health care reform outside a Chris Dodd event yesterday mocked the senator with references to his newly diagnosed cancer, reports Talking Points Memo. “How come we just don't give Chris Dodd painkillers?” one shouted. “Like a handful of them at a time! He can wash... More »

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Ted Kennedy • Connecticut • Chris Dodd • painkiller • health care reform • whiskey • protesters • pills • Scotch

 As Doc Snoozed, 
 Aide Killed Jacko 
 With Demerol: 
 Source 

Doctor was asleep as fatal dose was given

Aug 3, 09 9:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - In the race to figure out what—and who—killed Michael Jackson, the Sun declares itself the winner. A source tells the British tabloid that at Jackson's request, an aide gave him Demerol “but it was too soon after receiving the anesthetic” Propofol earlier in the day from... More »

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entertainment • drugs • celebrity • painkiller • Michael Jackson • anesthetic • Demerol • Conrad Murray • Katherine Jackson • celebrity death • Propofol

Was Jackson Healthy or On the Brink? Yes.

Drug-addled or ready to rock, his inner-circle tells it from all sides

Jul 12, 09 2:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Was Michael Jackson happy and healthy, or drug-addled and depressed in his final days? Depends who you ask. The AP compiles a list of contradictory reports from the star’s inner circle:
  • Concert promoter Randy Phillips initially told reporters Jackson was "a healthy, vibrant human being,” but
... More »

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drug addiction • painkiller • Michael Jackson • Akon • Deepak Chopra • Randy Phillips • celebrity death • Arnold Klein

(Newser) - Los Angeles police are interrogating at least five doctors who treated Michael Jackson to determine whether pharmaceutical drugs found at his Holmby Hills mansion were properly prescribed. Police found "numerous bottles" of prescription medications at his home, including the dangerous painkiller Diprivan. More »

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painkiller • Michael Jackson

(Newser) - An outside panel reporting to the Food and Drug Administration recommended today that the maximum daily dosage of Tylenol be reduced and the Extra Strength variety of the painkiller be available only by prescription, Bloomberg reports. The panel of advisers, whose suggestions are nonbinding, noted acetaminophen’s effect on the... More »

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drug companies • Vicodin • painkiller • liver • ibuprofen • Food and Drug Administration • Advil • Tylenol • acetaminophen • Percocet • women's issues

 Jackson Drug 
 Cocktail: 3 Painkillers,
 2 Anti-Depressants 

Star was on
powerful mix of narcotics, painkillers

Jun 27, 09 3:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Sun gets the details on the potentially lethal cocktail of prescription drugs Michael Jackson was on in the months before his death. Jackson took addictive narcotic painkillers Demerol and Diluadid daily, the Sun's sources say, and had recently added Vicodin to the mix. He also took a muscle... More »

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prescription drugs • Vicodin • painkiller • Michael Jackson • prescription painkillers • Demerol

Jackson roundup

 ET Nails 
 'Exclusive' 
 Last Photo 

Also, details on his last night; tour group is first to see ambulance leave; more

Jun 26, 09 8:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - The last picture of Michael Jackson—on a stretcher, being worked on by paramedics— came out last night, courtesy of Entertainment Tonight, which slapped a huge logo on it and called it an exclusive, even though it was instantly all over TV and the web. More coverage of the King... More »

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entertainment • celebrity • overdose • death • addiction • painkiller • Michael Jackson

 Jackson Died 'After 
 Demerol Injection' 

Family lawyer warned that Jackson had 'issues' with prescription drugs

Jun 26, 09 2:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Jackson's heart attack death occurred after an injection of the powerful prescription painkiller Demerol at his home, a source at the UCLA Medical Center tells the Sun. Desperate aides and a personal physician on the scene gave the singer CPR after his collapse, and made a panic-stricken call to... More »

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overdose • death • prescription drugs • painkiller • cardiac arrest • Michael Jackson

Ex-Wilco Guitarist Died of Accidental OD: Coroner

Painkiller fentanyl cited in Bennett's death

Jun 23, 09 2:53 PM CDT
(AP) - Authorities say former Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett died of an overdose of a pain killer, and that they're investigating his death as an accident. Champaign County (Ill.) Coroner Duane Northrup says tests show the 45-year-old musician died after taking fentanyl, a drug found in patches commonly prescribed to treat... More »

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music • chronic pain • overdose • painkiller • Jay Bennett • Wilco • fentanyl • Jeff Tweedy

 Abdul 
 Reveals 
 Painkiller 
 Addiction 

American Idol judge turned to meds after dancing injuries

May 5, 09 4:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Paula Abdul tells the Ladies' Home Journal she was addicted to heavy-duty painkillers for 12 years until she kicked the habit last November. Abdul insists, however, that she never shot an American Idol episode while under the influence. The 46-year-old turned to prescription meds—which made her act "weird"... More »

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American Idol • rehab • pop music • rehabilitation • painkiller • prescription painkillers • Paula Abdul • Celebrity Rehab

Painkillers May Play Role in Prostate Cancer

Doctors unsure if drugs reduce risk—or merely make screening harder

Sep 8, 08 5:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Common pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen belong to a class of drugs that lowers protein levels doctors use to test for prostate cancer, the second-most-common cancer found in men. But researchers say it's not clear if the drugs are lowering the risk of developing the cancer or just making... More »

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cancer • prostate cancer • painkiller • aspirin • cancer prevention • ibuprofen • men's health • Advil • Motrin • Aleve

Deaths Soar
as Methadone
Use Rises

Prescriptions of effective but risky painkiller  up 700%

Aug 17, 08 7:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - Methadone, formerly used primarily to treat heroin addicts, is now increasingly being prescribed for patients suffering from debilitating pain. Powerful and long-lasting, it's proved effective for millions, but it's also risky, causing more than 4,000 deaths between 1999 and 2005. The New York Times investigates the medical community’s... More »

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painkiller • methadone

 Court Tosses $32M
 Verdict Against Vioxx 

Says evidence insufficient that it contributed to Texan's death

May 14, 08 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Texas appellate court threw out a $32 million verdict against Merck today, citing a lack of evidence that Vioxx contributed to a man’s fatal heart attack. Lionel Garza was taking the painkiller when he died in 2001 at age 71, but was also a smoker with high blood... More »

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Merck • Vioxx • lawsuit • painkiller • pharmaceutical industry

 Cindy McCain's 
 Soft Talk Masks 
 Deep Resolve  

GOP candidate's wife is quiet on trail, crusader off it

Apr 15, 08 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cindy McCain is reserved on the campaign trail—a marked contrast to the sometimes-pugilistic style of husband John—but outside the public eye she has been a “one-woman philanthropic operation,” reports the Chicago Tribune in a profile. The would-be first lady has brought medical relief missions to Rwanda... More »

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John McCain • Darfur • painkiller • land mines • stroke • Cindy McCain • Iraq war

New Aspirin Spares Users Stomachaches

Italian scientists
alter key molecule
in painkiller

Mar 18, 08 1:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Aspirin is one of the world’s top painkillers, but it has a nasty way of attacking the stomach lining. That could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a team of Italian researchers who have molecularly altered the drug. The new aspirin “has no side effects,... More »

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medicine • painkiller • pharmaceutical • aspirin • clinical trials • stomach • molecules

US, UK Zero in on Illegal Prescription Drug Abuse

'These drugs are coming from inside our homes,' expert warns

Feb 10, 08 1:09 PM CST
(Newser) - American and British officials have launched campaigns to curb the illegal use of prescription drugs. The target of the British effort is doctors who "mis-prescribe" high doses of painkillers and sleeping pills that officials say are proving dangerously addictive, the Guardian reports. Across the Atlantic, Washington is spearheading... More »

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drug addiction • United Kingdom • patients • prescription drugs • doctor • painkiller • Heath Ledger • sleeping pills • benzodiazepine tranquillizers • over-the-counter drugs

Minorities Denied Potent Painkillers, Study Finds

ER docs prescribe more drugs to whites

Jan 2, 08 4:14 AM CST
(Newser) - Minority patients are less likely than white patients to receive powerful painkillers in hospital emergency rooms, a new study has found. Researchers discovered that 31% of white people in pain were given opioid drugs—narcotic painkillers like morphine and codeine—while Hispanic patients got them 24% of the time and... More »

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drugs • opioids • emergency room • prescription drugs • painkiller • Hispanic • minorities

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