Men! Read this before you reach for the acetaminophen

A fairly heavy dose

“Hello? American Cancer Society? Hi, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but acetaminophen overdose that causes liver failure is a dangerous health crisis right now.”

That’s my imaginary phone call to the ACS. You see, ACS researchers recently reported that prostate cancer risk drops by 40 percent in men who take at least 30 acetaminophen pills per month for at least five years.

Now, the researchers weren’t looking for a way to reduce risk of this worrisome cancer. They were looking for clues to the cause of prostate cancer.

So apparently ACS officials have no intention of promoting heavy acetaminophen use as a cancer preventive. And that’s a good thing. Because that would be insane.

And I’m not using “insane” as a metaphor. You would literally have to be out of your mind.

And speaking of being out of your mind…

Messing up the message

The subtle strategies of cancer research are not of much interest to media outlets that are constantly in the hunt to grab readers and pull them in with the first sentence.

So here’s how UPI launches into the ACS study: “A fairly heavy dose of acetaminophen for five years or longer was associated with an estimated 38 percent lower risk of prostate cancer.”

A “fairly heavy dose”? Gee — what could possibly go wrong there?

A report in Medical News Today was even worse, stating, “A man who takes one acetaminophen tablet each day for at least five years has a 38% lower chance…” etc.

Wait for further studies? No time for that! MNT is obviously sold on the plan: Men, take one pill a day for five years. Go!

Both articles do get around to mentioning the true intent of the study. But by then the damage is done. Because there really are men out there who will read the slapdash “recommendations” in the early paragraphs and head out to Sam’s Club to buy the biggest bottle of acetaminophen they can find.

Does that sound unlikely? After all, people are much more aware of the dangers of acetaminophen these days, right?

Well, that’s what I thought too. But the results of interviews conducted with focus groups in Atlanta and Chicago are pretty frightening…

More than two-thirds of the subjects were unaware that Tylenol contains acetaminophen. And well over half admitted that when they use OTC drugs they don’t read the labels.

We have a long, long way to go before we resolve the crisis of liver failure caused by acetaminophen overuse. And it doesn’t help a bit when media outlets casually inform men that they can avoid one of the most dreaded cancers by popping a daily acetaminophen.

Of course, popping a “fairly heavy dose” of acetaminophen could actually help you avoid any kind of cancer…since the liver failure will probably get you first.

Sources: 
“A Large Cohort Study of Long-term Acetaminophen Use and Prostate Cancer Incidence” Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, Published online ahead of print, 5/17/11, cebp.aacrjournals.org

“Acetaminophen lowers prostate cancer risk” UPI, 5/25/11, upi.com

“Regular Acetaminophen Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk” Medical News Today, 5/25/11, medicalnewstoday.com