WHO formally retracts controversial opioid guidelines

The WHO has formally retracted its opioid prescribing guidelines after the recommendations drew criticism last year. The agency announced last June that it would be discontinuing guidelines issued in 2011 and 2012 after a congressional report found, among other things, that the guidelines downplayed the risks of opioids and seemed influenced by OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. “WHO is discontinuing these guidelines in light of new scientific evidence that has emerged since the time of their publication,” the retraction, published in the latest issue of The Bulletin of the World Health Organization, states. Doing so will also address the conflict of interest issues raised, the agency says. At the same time, the WHO reiterated that the need for opioids ought to be balanced with concerns about their risks, including overdose and death.