Shine OnNew warning on U.S. Tylenol bottles: Should Canada do the same?
A series of lawsuits in the U.S. have led the makers of Tylenol to add warning labels on U.S. pill bottles warning would-be customers of the dangers of acetaminophen. The red labels, which will be placed on the bottle caps of Extra Strength Tylenol starting in October, will warn that acetaminophen can damage the liver when taken in excess.
The country's move comes as Johnson & Johnson faces more than 85 personal injury U.S. federal court lawsuits that blame Tylenol for liver injuries and deaths, reports CBC.
Acetaminophen overdose is the most-common cause of liver failure in the U.S.. The compound is used in more than 470 products in Canada, such as Nyquil, Excedrin, and Sudafed.
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The U.S. Federal Drug Administration cut the amount of acetaminophen that prescription products could contain to 325 milligrams per pill two years ago, but Extra Strength Tylenol tablets contain 500 milligrams.
The questions then remains: should Canadians get the same type of warning on our Extra Strength Tylenol bottles?
A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson in Canada implies the company has no plans to implement similar labels here because the need is specific to the U.S.
Shelley Kohut says that the labels south of the boarder are "based upon a number of factors that are specific to the U.S. market, including the prevalence of simultaneous usage of multiple acetaminophen products by a significant portion of the U.S. adult population."
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However, Dr. Rod Lim at the London Health Sciences Centre suggests the labels may be useful to prevent accidental overdoses in specific instances. For example, people who take two pills every fours hours could easily overdose on Extra Strength Tylenol.
"The problem is they're used to taking it every four hours but they'll exceed the maximum daily dose within 16 hours," he tells CBC.
Dr. David Juurlink, a drug safety researcher at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, says the labels makes sense, as he is unsure how widely known it is that excess acetaminophen can cause fatal liver damage.
What are your thoughts on the need for stern warning labels on Tylenol bottles? Do you think it will reduce the amount of accidental overdoses?
