More and more people have died from mixing strong painkillers with tranquilizers like Xanax, leading federal health officials to strengthen warnings against doing so.

People who mix opioids with the sedatives can suffer from breathing problems, which can lead to comas and even prove fatal, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

Mixing prescription opioid painkillers with a class of drugs that includes popular sedatives such as Valium and Xanax can cause a fatal overdose, U.S. health officials warned Wednesday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will require “boxed warnings” on 389 different products to inform health professionals and the public of this potentially lethal drug interaction, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said during a media briefing.

BALTIMORE — Volunteers and city health workers have set up a table here at the corner of East Baltimore and North Gay streets – near City Hall in an area filled with peep shows and strip clubs, known to residents as simply "The Block."

Nathan Fields, a community health educator for the city, has been coming to this area regularly for eight years, working with others from the health department to provide needle exchange, HIV testing and reproductive counseling. Today his team is providing passersby with naloxone, a lifesaving drug given to people overdosing on opioids like Oxycontin, Percocet or heroin.

Health commissioner Dr. Leana S. Wen gives every single city resident access to medication that stops an overdose in its tracks.