The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines on prescribing opioids including OxyCotin and Percocet. Much of the advice is geared for primary care physicians, who prescribe nearly half of the opioid painkillers in the United States.

The Opioid Problem

Research revealed that nearly 20,000 deaths in 2014 were from an overdose of prescription opioids in the United States. The same year also saw over 10 million Americans using prescription opioids for non-medical reason while almost 2 million individuals over 12 years old can be considered to have opioid substance use disorder. Four out of five people newly initiating heroin use say they began by using of prescription opioids.

The numbers for opioid use and addiction are the highest they've ever been since the industry began tracking data in the 19th century.

CDC's New Guidelines for Opioids

To combat the threat of an opioid epidemic, the CDC urged physicians to limit their prescription of various opioids because of the increasing risks of taking the drugs. CDC Director Thomas Frieden shared the reason behind the new set of guidelines for opioids.

"We know of no other medication routinely used for a nonfatal condition that kills patients so frequently," he said. "We hope to see fewer deaths from opiates. That's the bottom line."

Dr. Debra Houry, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, also sat down for an interview to speak out on the controversial move by the CDC of crafting limitations on opioid use. The physician pointed out that the goal is for other doctors to consider using non-opioids as first-line treatment for pain.

"Let's try a high dose of a nonsteroidal [anti-inflammatory drug], let's try an SSRI-type medication, let's try some of these other medications first and maximize them," Houry said. "We absolutely want to treat your pain, but we want to do it safely. And opioids may be warranted. ... If opioids are warranted though, we're not saying to use them in isolation. They should be used in combination with things like exercise therapy or nonsteroidal medication."

Limiting Pain Management

Although the health agency encouraged the doctors to avoid opioid prescription, they did specify exceptions for patients getting cancer treatment and end-of-life care. However, there are still existing criticisms that arose from the set of suggestions laid down by the CDC.

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network President Chris Hansen issued a statement against the new guidelines saying the cancer patients may suffer as the pain does not stop on the end of treatment.

"Most often, cancer patients deal with lasting effects from their disease or treatment including pain for a significant period of time or indefinitely," he pointed out.