Who needs stomach acid?

Did you get your stick of dynamite in the mail?

Mine arrived this week. It was a flyer that contained a $3-off coupon for Prilosec OTC. On the front of the flyer is a hot dog bun holding a stick of dynamite with a lit fuse.

What a perfect metaphor for a heartburn medication; a drug that promises something positive, but delivers a time-bomb that can blow out your digestive system later on.

Prilosec OTC (an over-the-counter version of prescription Prilosec) goes on sale today. And besides the fact that you don’t need to visit your doctor to purchase Prilosec OTC, it also has the advantage of costing anywhere from $5 to $8 less PER PILL than its prescription counterpart.

But Prilosec OTC isn’t a simple stomach acid neutralizer like Tums. It’s in a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors, designed to be taken daily over a course of 14 days. And how does it work? It prompts your body to stop producing stomach acids.

Sure. You don’t need those annoying stomach acids. All they do is DIGEST FOOD! So it’s no wonder that Prilosec OTC side effects include gas, diarrhea and constipation.

Kablooie!

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

“Prilosec the Latest Drug to Move Over the Counter” Christopher Rowland, The Boston Globe, 9/1/03, boston.com