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The opioid epidemic: a painful threat to Europe?
By Shane Sayers and Karishma Paroha (Kennedys Law LLP).
27 September 2017
Pop legends Michael Jackson and Prince both died using the drug fentanyl, the most powerful opioid (50 times more potent than heroin) usually used in advanced stage cancer patients.
The steep increase in the use of prescription and non-prescription opioids in the United States and Canada in the 2010s has become known as the “opioid epidemic”. There are now fears that Europe may face a similar epidemic, together with a trend for related legal claims/potential group actions against the manufacturers, the prescribers and the sellers. This report examines the likelihood of these rising concerns.
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