Surgeon General reprimands doctors across the U.S. for promoting Big Pharma at patients’ expense

‘For the first time in history, a United States Surgeon General has sent out a mass message to American physicians. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sent a letter to 2.3 million doctors in recent days, asking for their help to end the epidemic of prescription painkiller overdose deaths. The landmark letter is a signal to doctors across the country that it is time for something to be done about the growing opioid painkiller problem in America.
American citizens are dying by the thousands each year; they are overdosing on prescription painkillers like oxycodone, fentanyl and morphine. Business Insider reports that between the years 2013 and 2014, the number of synthetic opioid-related deaths increased by a staggering 79 percent. Because synthetic opioids have an effect on the brain that is similar to heroin, and cause slow breathing, they are also associated with serious risks of overdose and death.’
Read more: Surgeon General reprimands doctors across the U.S. for promoting Big Pharma at patients’ expense