FDA orders stronger overdose warnings for Darvocet

Published 11:30 pm Tuesday, July 6, 2010

WASHINGTON — The government is letting the painkillers Darvocet, Darvon and their generic cousins stay on the market but ordered stronger warnings against deadly overdoses.

The Food and Drug Administration’s actitoday means that patients soon will receive a special pamphlet with every bottle that stresses the risk. Consumer-health advocates have linked the 50-year-old drug to hundreds of deaths, from suicide and accidental overdoses.

The prescription-only drug also is known by its generic name propoxyphene (pro-POX-eh-feene). It’s considered a weak pain reliever yet is commonly prescribed.