Health officials push FDA to add ‘black box’ warnings about using opioids, benzodiazepines together

Dozens of public health officials and academics across the country are pushing the Food and Drug Administration to warn people about the potential dangers of taking powerful prescription painkillers alongside common anti-anxiety drugs known as benzodiazepines.

In a petition submitted to the agency Monday, 41 officials from various state and municipal health departments, as well as from some universities, urged the agency to add so-called "black box" warnings to both types of medications, given evidence that using them together increases the chance of deadly overdoses.

Read more at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/02/22/health-...

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