Tylenol Safety- FDA
Published: June 29, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) - Millions of Americans take Tylenol, Excedrin and other pain relievers containing acetaminophen. And they never think of them as anything but safe. But the Food and Drug Administration is in the middle of two days of hearings focusing on a dangerous side effect of the medications, severe liver damage. The govenment says overdoses of acetaminophen send an estimated 56,000 people to the emergency room every year. It’s the leading
cause of liver failure in the U.S. The makers of medications with the ingredient are trying to dissuade regulators from placing new restrictions on the drugs—
and possibly even removing some of them from the shelves. The FDA is asking experts for new ideas on reducing accidental overdoses of Tylenol and other over-the-counter pain relievers. Two options are adding a “black box” warning label to the products and lowering the doses of some of the drugs.
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There are FDA proceedings underway to review the use of acetaminophen in a wide range of products. Acetaminophen is a mild pain reliever, used worldwide under several different trade names, most common being Tylenol. It is also present in cough and cold syrups. However, evidence is beginning to surface that acetaminophen takes a heavy toll on the human liver, and is thought to be one of the leading causes of liver failure, which takes a lot of quick cash to treat. The FDA is mulling a ban of any acetaminophen products other than pain relievers, and people are calling for a bigger warning and package redesign, which means Big Pharma might need unsecured loans to deal with acetaminophen revenue losses.
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