ESPN sports broadcaster Lauren Sisler vividly recalls the image of her parents relaxing, sucking on what looked like innocent lollipops—but these weren’t the sugary treats we’re used to. Both of her parents were battling opioid use disorder after being prescribed powerful painkillers, including fentanyl “lollipops.”
“I remember seeing my parents sucking on fentanyl suckers, which are basically for breakthrough pain. Talk about becoming a norm around our house. We’d go places, and these sticks are hanging out of their mouths as we’re driving places or hanging out on the couch watching TV,” Sisler said in a recent episode of the Grieving Out Loud podcast.
Now, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that drugmakers will cease production of these controversial fentanyl lollipops. Known as TIRF medications, these products contain fentanyl and are used to manage breakthrough pain in cancer patients who have become tolerant to around-the-clock opioid therapy.
The FDA’s decision follows years of investigations and legal action against drugmakers, according to CBS News. In 2020, the FDA tightened restrictions on these medications because of reports suggesting many patients prescribed the medicine may not have been opioid-tolerant.
“FDA did not request this discontinuation. It is important to note that FDA does not manufacture medicine and cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a medicine, make more of a medicine or change the distribution of a medicine,” the agency said in a statement.
For Sisler, the consequences of fentanyl misuse hit tragically close to home. Both of her parents died from fentanyl overdoses within hours of each other. For years, Sisler kept her family’s struggle a secret, but now she shares their story to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse.
“I wish as my 14 or 15-year-old self I would have asked more questions. While it wasn’t necessarily my role as their child, when I talk to young adolescents, I encourage them to ask these questions when they see something that’s alarming or potentially dangerous,” Sisler said.