Is Vicodin a Real Drug or Is It Just House's Addictive Analgesic?

First, let me start by saying that at the moment of writing this post I had no idea that Vicodin was indeed a Real Drug. For me it all had to do with Hollywood and Dr. House. But you can imagine how big was my surprise when I realized that Vicodin was in fact a narcotic drug widely used in medicine.

Vicodin is a trademarked brand narcotic analgesic product containing hydrocodone and paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen. Vicodin is used to relieve moderate to severe pain.

Vicodin has a number of side effects as well as behavioral effects and it's well known that the regular use of this drug becomes addictive.

Vicodin on House

The main character of the TV show House, Dr. Gregory House, takes Vicodin habitually to counter the chronic pain in his infarcted right leg. His addiction to the drug has been a recurrent plot point on the show.

Eminem's addiction

Eminem sings about his addiction to Vicodin in his songs on his album Relapse, and in the songs Kill You and Under the Influence from the Marshall Mathers LP. Actually, the artwork on the Slim Shady LP disc is a crushed Vicodin pill.