Ban of Controversial Painkiller Dramatically Cuts Suicides in UK

by David Gutierrez, staff writer

(NaturalNews) The withdrawal of a popular painkiller from the market in the United Kingdom has led to a dramatic decrease in the number of suicides and accidental overdoses in that country, according to a study conducted by researchers from Oxford University's Centre for Suicide Research and published in the British Medical Journal.

The drug in question is a combination of the narcotic painkiller dextropropoxyphene (in the opioid family) with the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol or Tylenol. In the United Kingdom, the drug was marketed as co-proxamol, but it is also known as Darvon with APAP, Capadex, Di-Antalvic, Di-Gesic and Lentogesic.

In 2005, the British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) decided to remove co-proxamol from the market after statistics emerged suggesting that the drug was particularly dangerous, causing between 300 and 400 self-poisoning deaths every year. Approximately 80 percent of these deaths were intentional suicides.

The agency instructed doctors to phase out use of the drug by 2007, and over that period prescriptions of co-proxamol fell 59 percent and deaths from the drug fell 62 percent. This translated into 295 fewer suicides and 54 fewer accidental overdoses from the drug. Significantly, there was no concurrent increase in suicides or accidental overdoses from other painkillers, even though use of those drugs increased correspondingly.

"This marked reduction in suicides and accidental poisonings involving co-proxamol during this period, with no evidence of an increase in deaths involving other analgesics, suggests the initiative has been effective," lead researcher Keith Hawton said.

"Co-proxamol is extremely dangerous in overdose -- only a small overdose can be fatal, and death can occur very rapidly -- before medical attention can be sought," an MHRA spokesperson said. "[In addition,] there is no robust evidence that co-proxamol offers any advantage over paracetamol or ibuprofen at normal doses."

The FDA is currently considering whether to withdraw the drug from the U.S. market.

Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk.

www.naturalnews.com/028322_painkillers_s...

Report reveals that one percent of US children, and growing, have autism

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a new report showing that one out of every 110 children in America today have some form of autism. With an estimated three-quarters of a million children somewhere on the autism spectrum, child advocacy group Autism Speaks is calling on the federal government to increase research efforts to combat the disease.

The report, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report illustrates a 57-percent increase in autism cases between 2002 and 2006. A staggering 600-percent increase in the disease has occurred over the past two decades, plaguing boys more often than girls. Roughly one out of every 70 boys currently has some form of autism.

Scientists and researchers recognize that the autism rate is rising significantly and that something must be done to address the problem. A 2007 Harvard School of Public Health study notes that $35 billion is spent every year treating people who have autism and that children are the fastest growing segment of people being diagnosed with the disease.

Children are often diagnosed with autism between the ages of six and eight, an age that many believe is too late since the disease is usually observable in earlier years. As it stands, insurance companies typically do not cover autism treatment.

Autism Speaks has taken the conventional approach, urging increased funding for research at the federal level. Rather than investigate a preventive approach, advocates are begging the government to bolster funding so that children can be diagnosed earlier and receive treatment for their symptoms at an earlier age.

Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

For every child that gets diagnosed with autism, there are parents who wonder, "Did vaccines cause this?"

Rates of autism have skyrocketed in the last two decades, causing increasing numbers of parents to wonder what's behind the disturbing trend. Autism clearly has something to do with neurological problems, and it's entirely reasonable to suspect that the inflammatory chemicals used in vaccines as adjuvants may play a significant role in causing autism.

There may be other causes, too, such as exposure to pesticides, heavy metals, chemical solvents and the toxic chemicals used in personal care products. I rarely see children that aren't bathed in toxic shampoos, skin lotions, sunscreens and soaps. The antibacterial ingredient in soap is a neurotoxic chemical, and even more neurotoxins are found in the food supply.

Autism could simply be the result of a cumulative burden of neurotoxic chemicals from multiple sources: Vaccines, consumer products, foods, medicines, household cleaners and more.

Sources for this story include:
www.autismspeaks.org/press/c...

www.naturalnews.com/z028310_autism_neuro...