FDA Panel Recommends Removal of Vicodin, Percocet...NyQuil?

Courtesy CNN:

A government advisory panel voted Tuesday to recommend eliminating prescription drugs that combine acetaminophen with narcotics -- such as Vicodin and Percocet -- because of their risk for overdose and for severe liver injury.

The panel, assembled by the Food and Drug Administration, voted 20 to 17 to advise the FDA to remove such prescription combination drugs from the market.

The group recommended that the FDA "send a clear message that there's a high likelihood of overdose from prescription narcotics and acetaminophen products," Dr. Sandra L. Kweder of the FDA's Office of New Drugs said at a news conference after Tuesday's meeting.

The panel was meeting for the second day to vote on recommendations to reduce the risk of serious liver injury associated with acetaminophen, which is found not only in prescription drugs, but also in over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol and NyQuil. [...]

It also advised the FDA to lower the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen in over-the-counter and prescription medications, and to address the formulations and dosing recommendations for children.

This is bound to be controversial.  The FDA is not required to accept the recommendations of its advisory panels, but it does so in the vast majority of cases.  You can bet, however, that Big Pharma will be ALL over this one, trying to put pressure on the FDA to let this one slide.  Since its introduction to the US commercial market in the early 1950s, acetominophen (also known as paracetamol) has become a stock ingredient in an astonishing array of over-the-counter medicines.  New guidelines on dosage will require the reformulation of almost all such medicines.  Despite the commercial implications, this seems long overdue; paracetamol toxicity, which can affect some people even at "normal" dosages, is the most frequent cause of acute liver failure in the "Western world."

Yikes. Given a choice between a stuffy nose and liver damage, I'll live with the congestion.

Comments

[Tijuana]

Not me wes,, I prefer liver damage. I want to be able to breathe when I take my last breath. knowhatimean. :)

[skinnydipinacid]

Medical marijuana... okay... NyQuil... BAD! VERY VERY BAD!!

[Seth]

See when I get sick I sometimes just take a quick spray of my allergy medication called Flonase over the counter I have seasonal allergies and I don't like going for allergy shots because I find I get better results from Flonase. Also I have read up on different types of medications at "kiwi drug" and thought Id share this with everyone because I really like to know what main ingredient is in medication before hand.