PAIN KILLERS DEADLY

Death Toll Said To Rival Aids

BOSTON (Reuters) -- ASA and related drugs kill almost as many people
every year as AIDS and are responsible for a "silent epidemic,"
researchers say in an article published today.

Ulcers caused by such drugs kill about 16,500 people in the United
States each year, they report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
AIDS killed 16,685 Americans in 1997, according to the U.S. National
Centre for Health Statistics.

Dr. M. Michael Wolfe of the Boston University School of Medicine said
doctors have long known that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or
NSAIDs, cause ulcers and other stomach problems in a small fraction of
patients.

But because they are used so widely -- about 26 billion tablets are
consumed in the U.S. annually -- the number of deaths caused by the
drugs is large, Wolfe said in a statement.

"We estimate that approximately 16,500 deaths occur annually in the
U.S. from ulcer-related complications associated with their use," he
said.

If those deaths were given their own category, the report states, the
effects of NSAJD drugs "would constitute the 15th most common cause of
death in the United States."

NSAIDs include acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, sold generically and as
Bayer's Aspirin), ibuprofen, and the active ingredients in Aleve,
Naprox, Voltaren and Indocin.

"This is, in many ways, a silent epidemic because gastrointestinal
complications are not preceded by any warning signs in many
individuals," Wolfe said.