US orders tougher warning on painkiller-sedative mix

Washington

THE Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that it would require its toughest warning labels to caution patients against taking opioid painkillers together with benzodiazepines, such as Xanax and Valium. The combination makes an overdose more likely and the warning is aimed at making sure people understand that.

Benzodiazepines are prescribed for anxiety, insomnia and seizures, and opioids for pain. The drugs work by depressing the central nervous system. Increasingly, doctors have been prescribing them together. The number of patients who were prescribed both drugs rose by 41 per cent - about 2.5 million people - from 2002 to 2014, the agency said.