Is Purdue Pharma Responsible for Starting the Opioid Crisis?

  • I have picked the OxyContin ad from the manufacture Purdue Pharma from 1996 as my drug debunk advertisement. Even though this ad is rather dated I feel that it provides relevant insight as to how our opioid crisis may have initially started.
  • Purdue Pharma is the company responsible for producing and distributing OxyContin. The company is also responsible for advertising that OxyContin was safe for long term use and that OxyContin would give people, struggling with pain, their lives back. According to Purdue “We are committed to improving patients’ lives in meaningful ways by providing effective therapies along with educational tools that support their proper use.” Purdue also says “At Purdue Pharma, we embrace our mission to find, develop, and introduce innovative medicines that meet the evolving needs of healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers.” (Purdue Pharma, 2017)
  • Purdue has been around since 1892. The company started out developing medicines for earwax treatment laxatives and arthritis pain. In 1972 Purdue developed a product called Contin, extended release morphine, it wasn’t released until 1987. In 1996 Purdue released OxyContin extended release tablets. Since 1996 the company has been releasing new opioid painkillers for medical use. The most recently released opioid pain killer by Purdue was Hysingla, also known as, hydrocodone bitartrate extended release tablets, it was released in 2015.
  • After watching the ad for OxyContin I feel that the intended audience of this ad was for middle aged adults experiencing chronic pain. This ad was intended for television viewing during a commercial break. This ad featured a doctor that specialized in pain management. The ad also featured real patients that had been taking the drug. The patients in the ad were middle aged men and women who expressed how thrilled they were to have their chronic pain gone. The slogan for OxyContin that was started by the patients was “I got my life back!” To show that the drug was safe for long term use, Purdue made a second advertisement video featuring the same patients from the first advertisement video after 2 years of taking OxyContin. The original patients were still very happy with OxyContin and expressed their happiness in the second video as well.
  • OxyContin is an Opioid. The opium alkaloid, thebaine, is the active ingredient in OxyContin. (National Institute of Health, 2017) An alkaloid is a naturally occurring chemical compound. Opium is considered to be extremely addictive and dangerous. Opium is considered to be a psychoactive drug that impairs vision, cognitive, and motor functions. Opium will affect mental and physiological health by causing extreme mental and physical dependency. Opium acts on the dopamine center of the brain. It causes the brain to flood with dopamine creating a pleasurable sensation. The use of opium also leads to paranoia, anxiety, and depression all of which are mental health disorders. Opium affects physiological health by affecting the lungs, heart, kidney, and liver. The ad for OxyContin by Purdue Pharma did not inform the user of severe risks and side effects of the drug. An example of a severe risk of taking OxyContin is death from overdose. Other side effects of the drug OxyContin are Nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, constipation, dizziness, drowsiness and mood changes, headache, sweating and flushing of the skin. The ad for OxyContin doesn’t just not list the side effects of the drug, but it actually claims that there are no side effects to taking OxyContin.
  • The advertising techniques used by Purdue Pharma for advertising the drug OxyContin were misleading, used real people, and presentation of incorrect information. Purdue lead the general public to believe that OxyContin was safe for use. They did this by saying in their drug advertisement video that OxyContin has no side effects. Purdue did acknowledge that opium has many adverse side effects, but claimed that OxyContin was safe for daily extended use for pain patients. To prove that their drug was safe and great, Purdue put real patients that were taking OxyContin for chronic pain in their drug advertisement video. Initially, the patients said that OxyContin was great and that it gave them their lives back. After two years of the drug being on the market the original patients from the first video agreed to make a follow up video because they were still feeling like they were benefiting from the drug. After the second video was made the original patients started having problems. One patient lost her medical insurance and found out about the severe withdrawals and dependency that came with prolong use of OxyContin. This patient was not aware that she was going to be addicted to OxyContin or rather addicted to the active ingredient, opium, when she initially started taking the drug. Another patient was driving under the influence of OxyContin and fell asleep while driving multiple times. The final time that the patient fell asleep while driving under the influence of OxyContin the patient lost his life in a car crash. Yes, the techniques used for advertising OxyContin were deceptive. The techniques were deceptive because people were led to believe that OxyContin was safe for long term extended use for chronic pain management when it really wasn’t. The original release of OxyContin has led to an opium based drug abuse crisis now almost 20 years later.
  • I would not recommend the use of OxyContin to a friend or family member for management of chronic pain. “Chronic pain” means that the pain is going to be long term. After almost 20 years it is clear that OxyContin is not for daily long term use. The patients from the Purdue Pharma ad for OxyContin, one was addicted when her insurance ran out. Addiction to opioid pain medicine tends to lead to illegal opium drug abuse, such as abuse of heroin. Another patient from the Purdue Pharma drug ad lost his life from a side effect of using OxyContin. The side effect that caused him to lose his life was drowsiness. The patient fell asleep while driving, resulting in a fatal car crash. I think OxyContin and other opioid pain medicines have a place in modern medicine and patient recovery. I think said opioid pain medicines are for short term use only and there needs to be extreme regulation of how much a patient is prescribed. Also, better identification of when patients have become addicted to pain medicine and need help getting off the drug.

 

Additional Information:

I feel that even though the Purdue Pharma advertisement for the release of OxyContin is rather dated, the information that I have gathered from this drug ad is relevant to today because there is such a major opioid drug abuse problem currently going on. All over the United States citizens are addicted to their pain medication. The addiction to pain medication tends to escalated into illegal use of heroin because heroin produces the same or similar feelings as pain medication. The opioid crisis is particularly bad in, the nearby, city of Everett, WA. The crisis is so bad in Everett that in January 2017, Everett filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma. (City of Everett, 2017) City of Everett is suing Purdue Pharma to hold them responsible for the opioid crisis now almost 20 years later. Everett is asking Purdue to take financial responsibility and help resolve the ever growing opioid crisis that is raging on in Everett, WA.

On September 25, 2017 the majority of Everett’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma was allowed to move forward. Link to the Amended Complaint Filed against Purdue Pharma by the City of Everett, WA on October 25, 2017:

https://everettwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12238

Citations:

Purdue Pharma. (2017). About Purdue. Retrieved November 09, 2017, from http://www.purduepharma.com/about/

National Institute of Health. (2017). OXYCONTIN® (OXYCODONE HCl CONTROLLED-RELEASE) TABLETS CII10 mg 15 mg 20 mg 30 mg 40 mg 60 mg* 80 mg* 160 mg*. Retrieved November 09, 2017, from https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/archives/fdaDrugInfo.cfm?archiveid=15783

City of Everett. (2017). City of Everett’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma | Everett, WA – Official Website. Retrieved November 09, 2017, from https://everettwa.gov/1681/Purdue-Lawsuit

  1. (2012, September 09). OxyContin Poster Children 15 Years Later. Retrieved November 09, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwtSvHb_PRk&t=422s

Purdue Pharma. (2016, September 22). Purdue Pharma OxyContin Commercial. Retrieved November 09, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er78Dj5hyeI

 

38 thoughts on “Is Purdue Pharma Responsible for Starting the Opioid Crisis?

  1. Thank you for elucidating the corruption which propagated and spurred on the crisis.
    But also, thank you for noting that people in the U.S. with intractable chronic pain are also real individual people, suffering but need semblance of life, and that there are those that need proper, safe, and compliant pain management care, in a system that should not fail by causing addiction and not fail people that are ill.
    puff puff pass

  2. Kami dari Pioneer Multiproduct ingin menawarkan jasa pembuatan plakat dan souvenir. Buat bapak/ibu yang saat ini sedang membutuhkan vendor untuk memulai bisnis maupun mengembangkan bisnis percetakan ke penjualan plakat dan souvenir custom bisa menghubungi kami. Kami dapat memproduksi:
    – Plakat Akrilik, Marmer, Kayu, Logam, Fiberglass
    – Samir/Medali Wisuda
    – Souvenir-souvenir Wisuda
    – Trophy/Piala
    – Laser Cutting/CNC
    – Gantungan kunci
    – Casing PC Akrilik Custom
    – Kerajinan Custom Lainnya

    Website: https://pioneermultiproduct.com

  3. This was a great post, it is well written and very organized every detail.
    Keep up the good work !
    Visit this and have fun !

    제이나인 토토 결과
    제이나인 토토 꽁 머니
    제이나인 먹튀 검증 업체
    제이나인 온라인 카지노 게임
    제이나인 스포츠 토토 일정
    https://www.j9korea.com

  4. 정품 비아그라,비아그라구매,비아그라구입,처방전없이 초간편주문.합리적인가격.비아그라 퀵배송,비아그라온라인약국,시알리스.각종 발기부전치료제 판매 전문 온라인스토어 13년동안 단 1건도 가품판매에 관한 스캔들이 없는 믿을수 있는 스토어 입니다.

  5. Metro shoes offer their customers the highest quality loafers and loafer shoes. Get only the best available loafer shoes in Pakistan, today. So, buy the best loafer shoes online from Metro shoes. We bring you only the highest quality loafers for women.

  6. Explore the best quality Belts for Men online at Servis. Servis Shoes provides a wide range of Belts online across Pakistan. So, grab your favorite belts today and enjoy.

  7. If you’re searching for the best Cannabis near me, you’re at the right place! At Royal Leafs, you can find plenty of Cannabis products such as Cannabis pre-rolls, raw and milled flowers, drinks, and accessories such as bongs and vapes of the highest quality.

  8. Very Nice Post.
    Sulbutiamine is the active ingredient in
    Arcalion 200. It is used primarily to treat weakness caused by a lack of thiamine (vitamin B1) in the body and to improve cognitive function. Symptoms include fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. In addition, it is used to treat conditions such as asthenia and beriberi.

  9. Step into style & comfort with our fashionable shoes! Crafted with the highest quality materials, our shoes have been designed to make you look & feel stylish at any occasion. With a selection of trendy colors & textures, you can find the perfect pair to match your individual look. Whether it’s a day in the office or a night out, these fashionable shoes will make sure you look your best.

  10. A long reach is perpetual for the enduring items for humans. Linkages of the pond aerators are resourceful by all margins. The challenge is ensured for the targeted element for the shows. Mode is pushed for the running of the shows for the pats for the field.

  11. Shop for unique and elegant floral jewellery from our wide selection of designs. Our handcrafted pieces are perfect for any occasion and feature a variety of materials including gold, silver, pearls, crystals, and more. Find the perfect piece today!

  12. Modafinil can help you stay alert during the day, but it is not a substitute for sleeping enough. This drug should be used with caution if you have kidney problems. Make an informed decision by understanding Modafinil’s mechanism of action, adverse events, and interactions. For the same purpose, we also offer Armodafinil 150mg. buy modafinil 200 mg online safely and conveniently today.

  13. il leggendario nome di Wilsdorf “Rolex” deriva dall’abbreviazione della parola “orologio” (orologio di prestigio), è diventato un orologio di qualità sinonimo di orologi replica rolex. è anche un nome semplice che è facile da pronunciare ovunque e da chiunque.
    Rolex ha sempre affidato al proprio centro di ricerca il compito di essere all’avanguardia nei materiali e nella tecnologia: non sorprende che nel 1985 sia stata la prima casa

  14. فني كهربائي منازل لصيانة الكهرباء وتركيب اجهزة كهربائية وتمديد كهرباء لكافة المنشآت, بالاضافة لخدمات الصيانة لكافة الكهربائيات.

    فني كهربائي منازل

  15. I am truly overwhelmed by this information. After reading your blog’s informative content. I’m excited to learn from your practical expertise. I appreciate you sharing. dordle

  16. This article examines Purdue Pharma’s role in fueling the opioid epidemic through aggressive marketing of OxyContin. With ChatGPT language capabilities, it could potentially assist in analyzing legal documents and medical studies around this complex issue to provide helpful summaries and insights for researchers or journalists covering the crisis.

  17. Interested in learning more about what is an oral drug test? Drug Test Kit USA’s website provides comprehensive information on this topic. An oral drug test involves collecting a saliva sample to detect the presence of drugs, offering a convenient and reliable testing method.

  18. SwipeUp Assignment Experts have a solutions that can save you from your Stress. Our Skillful experts will help you with your Online Exams and Assignments as We are the leading Assignment help company .Our Experts has provided help to large number of students across the globe.

    https://swipeupassignments.com/

    Cantact Us- +91-7240200084

  19. The search for a personal injury lawyer near me led me to John W. Stenson’s firm, and I couldn’t be happier with my choice. Their expertise and commitment to their clients’ cases set them apart from other firms. If you’re in need of legal representation, don’t hesitate to reach out to a trusted professional like John W. Stenson. https://stensonlaw.com/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *