South Carolina is suing the maker of popular painkiller Oxycontin for deceptively marketing the addictive opioid.
The state is the sixth to sue an opioid maker for deceptive marketing, joining several counties and cities across the nation.
Cincinnati became the latest city to sue companies for the epidemic, targeting several distributors in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
South Carolina charges that Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma from 2007 onward “significantly downplayed how addictive its opioids are and also overstated the benefits of opioids compared to other forms of pain management in order to increase its market share and profits,” according to Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Federal data shows that opioid overdoses from prescription painkillers and heroin killed roughly 33,000 people in 2015.
More lawsuits could be on the way, as more than half of the nation’s attorneys general are investigating the opioid epidemic.
