Washington will receive $1.6 million and Idaho will get $1.1 million of a $58 million settlement from Merck & Co. over the marketing of the painkiller Vioxx.

The settlement is the largest multistate consumer protection settlement involving the drug industry in U.S. history.

New Jersey-based Merck stopped selling Vioxx in September 2004 after its study showed that long-term users of the drug had twice the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The Attorney Generals of Idaho, Washington, 28 other states and the District of Columbia signed agreements with the company, ending a three-year investigation into the Merck’s allegedly deceptive promotion of the drug.

Under the settlement, Merck is prohibited from ghostwriting articles or studies, deceptively using scientific data when marketing to doctors, and failing to disclose conflicts of interest involving its speakers. The settlement also requires Merck to submit all consumer-targeted television commercials to the Food and Drug Administration for approval before they air.

Separately, earlier this month Merck extended the deadline for consumers who bought Vioxx to receive refunds under a $4.85 billion class-action lawsuit. Those who were eligible and registered by the Jan. 15 deadline have until June 30. to submit their paperwork.

(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)