Two members of Congress accused the World Health Organization of helping Purdue Pharma use the same “propaganda campaign” that fueled the opioid epidemic in the U.S. to expand drug sales internationally.
use the same “propaganda campaign” that fueled the opioid epidemic in the United States to expand drug sales internationally.Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., charged that the WHO has published guidelines for opioid use that parrot Purdue’s claims “that dependence occurs in less than 1 percent of patients, despite no scientific evidence supporting this claim.”
WHO is an agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health and is based in Switzerland. “Purdue strongly denies the claims in today’s congressional report, which seeks to vilify the company through baseless allegations,” the statement reads. “Purdue Pharma LP is solely based in the United States with no international operations. The company has never violated any applicable rules or guidelines and no formal complaint or enforcement activity has resulted from Purdue’s financial support or relationship with any third party.
Purdue, in a statement, said it is an"industry leader in the development of abuse-deterrent technology."But Clark and Rogers say they never got a response from the WHO. Then in 2012, the WHO published a second document called “Pharmacological Treatment of Persisting Pain in Children with Medical Illnesses.”
“The web of influence we uncovered paints a picture of a public health organization that has been manipulated by the opioid industry,” Clark said. “The WHO appears to be lending the opioid industry its voice and credibility, and as a result, a trusted public health organization is trafficking dangerous misinformation that could lead to a global opioid epidemic.”
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