Aug 17, 2023 08:23 PM
(This post was last modified: Aug 17, 2023 08:51 PM by C C.)
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https://www.acsh.org/news/2023/08/16/pai...oids-17267
INTRO: You cannot trust what Hollywood says about science. From health care to agriculture and space travel, the examples of inaccuracies in movies and TV are nearly endless...
[...] The new Netflix six-part miniseries Painkiller is a textbook example of a show meant to sway public perceptions on an important public health issue, the opioid epidemic, even if that means lying to viewers along the way.
If you’ve seen Erin Brockovich, you’ve seen Painkiller. There’s the obligatory nefarious corporation run by greedy executives who covered up the deadly effects of their product, unsuspecting victims who used that product, and a scrappy protagonist who blew the lid off the conspiracy.
[...] In broad strokes, Painkiller correctly highlighted Purdue Pharma's reckless marketing of OxyContin, its prescription opioid introduced in 1996. As Reason’s Jacob Sullum reported in 2020, the company’s malfeasance included [...see article for those items...]
[...] Like its loathsome predecessor Dopesick, the Netflix series lays blame for the opioid crisis almost exclusively on Purdue ... Painkiller executive producer Alex Gibney seems to really believe this outlandish story, summarizing the show’s central thesis like this:
[...] “The crisis wasn't something that just happened … It was something that was … manufactured by companies looking to make an egregious profit. I realized that this opioid crisis I've been hearing so much about … was really a crime.”
This is a lie, plain and simple. Writing in the Yale Law and Policy Review in February, epidemiologist and Reason Foundation drug policy analyst Jacob Rich explained why:“Although OxyContin was introduced in 1996 and Purdue Pharma’s marketing campaign subsequently increased its market share within the industry of pain relievers that contain oxycodone, only 9.0% of all nonmedical opioid users in 2001 reported ever using OxyContin during their lifetime … Overall, it is not clear that nonmedical opioid use has significantly changed since 1990.” [emphasis added]
Equally damning to Painkiller’s premise is the fact that “Today’s nonmedical opioid users are not yesterday’s patients,” as ACSH advisor Dr. Jeff Singer explained in this 2019 review article:“In a 2007 study of more than 27,000 OxyContin addicts who entered rehab between 2001 and 2004, [researchers] found that 78% said the drug was never prescribed for them for any medical reason, 86% took the pills to get ‘high’ or get a ‘buzz,’ and 78% had a history of prior treatment for a substance abuse disorder.” [emphasis added]
The makers of Painkiller seemed to be aware of this data because they framed it as a flimsy industry talking point worthy of dismissal...[...] Multiple studies published before and after OxyContin was commercialized showed that patients prescribed oxycodone could use it without developing an addiction. [...] And at no point did the show probe the myriad causes of drug abuse or the difference between physical dependence and addiction... (MORE - missing details)
Painkiller (trailer) ... https://youtu.be/24-YonhNS0Y
