Popular over-the-counter painkiller medications from the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) class, which includes ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB), have been found in a new large-scale international study to significantly increase the risk of heart attack, stroke or dying from cardiovascular disease.

Researchers found that people who regularly take ibuprofen or aspirin (Bayer, Bufferin, Excedrin) have about a 33% increased risk of suffering a major cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, compared to people who don’t use these drugs. Based on their dangers, NSAIDs are now considered to be as “equally hazardous,” say researchers, as COX-2 inhibitor drugs like Vioxx, which was pulled off the market in 2004 after killing thousands of users.

Published in The Lancet, the eye-opening paper out of Oxford University looked at the results of 639 unique randomized trials involving more than 300,000 people. The team gathered extensive data on the patients involved, including hospital admissions for cardiovascular or gastrointestinal disease associated with NSAID use.

Focusing specifically on how NSAID use affects patients over the long term, the team found that chronic pain sufferers who take high-dose painkillers for long periods of time have the highest risk. This includes folks who take 150 milligrams of diclofenac (Voltaren) or 2,400 mg of ibuprofen daily for many weeks or months.

“Long-term high-dose use of painkillers such as ibuprofen or diclofenac is ‘equally hazardous’ in terms of heart attack risk as use of the drug Vioxx, which was withdrawn due to its potential dangers,” warns Reuters about the study’s findings.

Cannabis: a truly safe and effective pain reliever that renders deadly pharmaceuticals obsolete

As you may recall, the Vioxx scandal reached a bitter end only after roughly 30,000 users suffered heart attack or sudden cardiac death from the drug. Its manufacturer, Merck & Co., actively conspired with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to keep silent about these extreme dangers for years, only to reluctantly pull the drug from the market after it was abundantly obvious that Vioxx was deadly quack medicine.

Now, it’s clear that ibuprofen is equally as hazardous, and yet we don’t hear any politicians calling for pain pills to be banned “for the sake of the children” like they are for harmless cannabis. The hypocrisy here is striking, especially as it becomes increasingly evident that natural substances like cannabis are powerful pain relievers without deadly side effects.

“I was amazed at how effective and safe marijuana is for a lot of chronic conditions that have doctors wringing their hands in frustration, like fibromyalgia or spinal cord injury,” said Dr. Doug Smith, a rehabilitation specialist from New Brunswick, Canada, who is among a growing number of doctors switching to cannabis rather than painkiller drugs as their recommendation of choice for patients.

“It’s a very safe option for pain management; there has never been an attributable death,” he added, as quoted by Leaf Science.

Meanwhile, prescription opioid painkillers are killing more people than ever — more than the number of people who die from heroin and cocaine combined! So nearly everything that’s “legal” for treating pain can kill you, but “illegal” plants and herbs like cannabis that are completely safe remain off limits in many parts of the country and world.

“It’s not the majority of people who use cannabis for medical purposes,” added Dr. Arnold Schoichet, medical director of the Medicinal Cannabis Resource Center, Inc., in Canada, which has helped more than 2,000 patients gain authorization to use cannabis. “But the ones that do [use cannabis medicinally] gain so significantly that their care should be a priority.“

Sources:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com

http://www.reuters.com

http://www.leafscience.com

http://www.businessinsider.com

Article Source: NaturalNews.com