About Dr Jorn

APS Responds to Oprah’s Pain Drug Coverage

On September 29, 2009, The Oprah Winfrey Show aired a segment about prescription drug abuse that unfortunately communicated incorrect and misleading information about addiction issues associated with pain medications. APS Executive Director Cathy Underwood worked with APS leadership to draft a response letter (below) to the show’s executive producer to point out mistakes in the coverage and to offer to work together on future shows dealing with pain care and pain medications. The Canadian Pain Society joined APS in objecting to the coverage.

Oct. 15, 2009

TO:      Executive Producer
           Oprah Winfrey Show

FR:      American Pain Society
           Canadian Pain Society

RE:      Sept. 29 Coverage of Pain Medication Abuse

I am writing on behalf of the American Pain Society and the Canadian Pain Society. Both organizations have received complaints from their members (pain treatment clinicians and researchers) about a segment that aired Sept. 29 on the Oprah Winfrey Show in which Oprah and Dr. Mehmet Oz discussed the subject of prescription drug abuse and its growing incidence in the United States. While our organizations applaud your decision to increase public awareness of this important public health topic, we were surprised and disturbed by some comments made by a clinician of the stature and reputation as Dr. Oz.

Members of our organizations thought the tone of the segment was demeaning to legitimate pain patients who must use prescription pain medications every day to relieve pain and improve their level of function. We don’t believe there was intent to offend anyone with a pain condition, but saying “Americans can’t handle pain” and “We have become a nation of zombies” sent the wrong message to people with chronic pain and those who care for them. Also, we are troubled by two inaccurate statements by Dr. Oz: “If you can’t go a day without medication, you’re addicted,” and “Pain medications have the same addictive potential as street drugs.”

It is unfortunate Dr. Oz didn’t acknowledge the hundreds of thousands of pain patients who use medication responsibly every day as part of a comprehensive approach to pain management that is not limited to pharmacotherapy. When appropriately prescribed and used, pain medications do not turn patients into ‘zombies,’ and claiming that addiction begins when someone can’t go a day without medication confuses physiologic dependence with addiction. Regular use of opioid pain medications often causes physiologic dependence, which results in withdrawal syndrome if medications are discontinued abruptly. Therefore, patients can’t go a day without medication and not experience withdrawal. This is not addiction.

Regarding the comparison with street drugs, properly used pain medications do not have the same addictive potential as speed, crack, or heroin. However, when opioids repeatedly are misused to get high, it may trigger addiction in vulnerable persons. The best available data shows that the risk of addiction is low when opioids are used to treat pain in patients with no history of addiction.

Confusion about addiction—what it is and what it isn’t—contributes significantly to unnecessary pain related suffering in the United States and Canada, and the misuse of prescription opioids can have tragic consequences for individuals and society. Neither of these important public health problems is well served by misinformation or perpetuating misconceptions.

We would appreciate the opportunity to work with The Oprah Show on future coverage of the prescription drug abuse problem. In particular, we hope you will consider airing another segment that would cover points raised in this letter and encourage people with legitimate pain problems to seek treatment for their pain without disproportionate fear of addiction.   Can we schedule a meeting or phone conference soon with you to discuss possible future coverage of the medication abuse issue and also to address concerns raised by pain clinicians and patients about your recent coverage?

Thank you for your attention to our concerns. We look forward to speaking with you soon.