UPDATE: Federal Judge Urges Opioid Lawsuit Defendants to Quickly Settle Claims

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The governments are asking the court to award them with hundreds of billions of dollars in damages.

Did Pharmaceutical Companies Lie to Doctors about the Safety of Opioids?

The government seems to be taking a page from its own playbook when it took on Big Tobacco in the mid-90s. Big Tobacco was accused of promoting cigarettes and other tobacco products without really explaining just how dangerous their products are. Eventually, a Master Settlement Agreement was put into place. Yet, despite the new warnings and the money poured into smoking cessation and prevention programs, the smoking rate is still around 40% with individuals who have no more than a high school education according to the CDC.

Yet, doctors were the ones targeted by pharmaceutical companies for opioid marketing. Although Janssen Pharmaceuticals stated that they acted in a way that they believed was “in the best interest of patients,” doctors generally relied on information that they believed downplayed the risk of addiction. In fact, doctors were told in the 1980s and 1990s that opioids were safe and presented little risk for addiction.