Hydrocodone Pills Face Stricter Limits as FDA Reverses Stance

Vicodin and other hydrocodone-based painkillers, the most popular pharmacy drugs in the U.S., would be placed under stricter prescribing limits to curb abuse, in a policy reversal by the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA agreed to recommend by early December reclassifying the pills as a Schedule II substance, Janet Woodcock, director of the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. Hydrocodone combinations, are currently Schedule III, the third-highest level on a five-stage scale that takes into account the potential for addiction.