e, prescription painkillers are becoming a major social problem. There are a number of reasons why drugs like OxyContin are so popular in addition to their effectiveness for legitimate medical use. As Kalb reports, OxyContin does not contain the liver-damaging acetaminophen in most painkillers, so liver damage is not a side-effect (Wilson 2003). Further, the drug is powerful and individuals need to take fewer of them to achieve a longer-lasting impact than traditional painkillers. Further, when abused for recreational purposes, they are highly satisfying to many users, ôWhen the drug is crushed and snorted, eliminating its time-release feature, itÆs a huge narcotic rushö (Wilson 84).
(2) The high cost of research and development to bring new drugs to market makes pharmaceutical companies extremely determined to promote them. One of the most powerful and influential lobbying groups in the country, pharmaceutical companies promote drugs through legislation, the media, and the healthc
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