Opioids are bad medicine for chronic pain, say new federal guidelines

In an attempt to combat the nation's ongoing prescription drug epidemic, federal health officials Tuesday issued new guidelines that discourage physicians from prescribing painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin for the treatment of chronic conditions such as backaches, neck pain and migraines.

The guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not binding on doctors, but officials said other government agencies and private insurance companies could look to them in setting regulations.

CDC director Tom Frieden said an extensive review of scientific literature as well as input from leading experts found no proof opiate painkillers help chronic pain patients when used long-term.

"Plainly stated, the risks of opioids are addiction and death and the benefits for chronic pain are often transient and generally unproven," Frieden said.

He said, "Almost all of the opioids on the market as just as addictive as heroin."

Since 1999, more than 165,000 people in the U.S. have died from causes related to painkiller use. The CDC guidelines note that the deaths have paralleled an enormous increase in the sales of these drugs. About 250 million prescriptions were written in 2013, enough, the agency noted, "for every American adult to have a bottle of pills."

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell praised the release of the guidelines and noted that she had seen first hand the devastation caused by painkiller abuse in her native West Virginia.

"The opioid epidemic is one of the most pressing public health issues in the United States today," Burwell said. "Combating the opioid epidemic is a national priority."

The guidelines instruct doctors to use other types of treatment, including physical therapy and less potent pain relievers, rather than painkillers. They also urge physicians who prescribe the drugs to use the lowest dose possible and for limited time.

The recommendations do not apply to cancer patients, the terminally ill or those in acute pain.