The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued new guidelines for doctors who prescribe pain medication, and addiction-treatment workers say it could prove helpful in the fight against the heroin epidemic.

The new CDC guidelines call for doctors to use over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol in combination with physical therapy to treat pain, rather than prescribing drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin. The guidelines also call for prescriptions for seven days' worth of painkillers instead of 30.

Anti-drug advocates and treatment centers have said the new guidelines are an important step in the fight against the heroin epidemic. Experts say the use of prescription narcotics can lead to addiction and heroin use.

The Guidance Center of Westchester is at the front lines of the war on heroin. Center Director Donald Johnson says the heroin crisis has worsened since News 12's "Hooked on Heroin" coverage first began in 2013, and he blames the over-prescription of pain medications.

Johnson says the new guidelines will be helpful if doctors follow them, but he says they do come with a caveat. "You have to think of the side effects," he says. "Ibuprofen affects the liver, so it's swapping one drug for the other."

Doctors are not legally required to follow the new pain-treatment guidelines, and they don't apply to cancer doctors or those who specialize in end-of-life care.