Painkillers and breath mints

Minty Fresh

Does your medication also make your mouth feel fresh and minty?

I saw the TV ad for the first time last week, but apparently this product has been out for a couple of months now: Tylenol “cool caplets.”

It’s a breath mint! No, it’s a pain reliever! No, wait, you’re both right – it’s a breath mint AND a pain reliever!

I had to bite. On my next trip to the grocery store I bought small bottle of Tylenol Extra Strength Cool Caplets. At the first sign of a headache, I downed two caplets and it tasted like slightly minty envelope adhesive. The envelope taste went away pretty quickly, and after that a distinct mint flavor lingered for about two minutes. And just like that, I entered the brave new world of flavored headache relief.

Flavored medications are nothing new. Manufacturers have been producing flavored children’s pain relievers for years. And antacids have been available in flavors for some time now. But I believe this is a first for an over-the-counter pain-reliever/fever-reducer in a tablet.

Will it catch on? Will we soon see tangy tangerine caplets or zesty salsa caplets? Or will the breath mint manufacturers get in on the trend and start offering Tic- Tacs with a “refreshing blast” of acetaminophen?

I hate to spoil this party, but the question has to be asked: Is it really a sound idea to add the temptation of flavoring to a pain-reliever that, by the FDA’s admission, plays a role in about 100 unintentional deaths each year? Most people regard acetaminophen as a completely benign medication. And that undeserved reputation may only be reinforced when mint flavoring is added to the mix.

Call me old fashioned, but I’ll take my mint the old fashioned way: with a fresh sprig of it on the rim of a glass of iced tea (or, if the sun has dipped below the yardarm, a mint julep).

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute