Pharmaceutical companies spent eight times more on political lobbying than pro-gun groups in the U.S. allowing them to counter government proposals to limit opioid restrictions, according to an investigation from the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity.
Groups of drugmakers, spent more than US$880 million between 2006 and 2015 to fight government restrictions on lucrative opiate drugs such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Fentanyl and Percocet between 2006 and 2015.
Around 165,000 people are thought to have died from opioid abuse, with thousands more falling victims of opioid addictions. In 2015, 227 million prescriptions were handed out in the U.S., roughly the equivalent of a bottle of pills for every 10 adults in the country.
To keep the drugs on the market, 1,350 registered as lobbyists between 2006 and 2015.
— source telesurtv.net | 2016-09-20