For years, many prescription painkillers have been linked to overdose deaths, liver damage, and liver failure. This week, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is considering whether it may be best to pull some of these dangerous prescription drugs off of the market altogether.

The painkillers in question include Vicodin, Hydrocodone, Lortab, Maxidone, Norco, Zydone, Tylenol with codeine, Percocet, Endocet, Darvocet, and other similar drugs off of the market because of the recent rise in drug overdoses connected with these products.

Currently, a government-assembled panel of medical experts is looking over some frightening data related to prescription painkillers - over the last ten years, they may have resulted in 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations and 458 deaths. These numbers do not include the quickly-increasing number of painkiller addicts and painkiller overdoses - both of which have skyrocketed in recent times.