2013 is the perfect year to adopt a simple plan that would sharply reduce acetaminophen overdose

No time like the present

Yesterday, I mentioned acetaminophen dangers. But they deserve more than just a mention. Especially today, at the fresh start of a new year.

Here’s what we already know about 2013. Thousands of people will accidentally overdose on acetaminophen. Several hundred will die.

But we could change that.

This is the perfect year to adopt a simple plan that would sharply reduce those yearly numbers.

Seeing orange

A few years ago, an FDA panel recommended a ban of the prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet because they contain acetaminophen.

In 2011, the FDA reduced the amount of acetaminophen allowed in Vicodin and Percocet.

Um…FDA? Why not just REMOVE acetaminophen from these drugs?

This is NOT a difficult concept. You’ve got pain? Take a painkiller. Got a headache too? Take some Tylenol. Problem solved.

But that still leaves the issue of acetaminophen overdose.

I’m sure the FDA knows the solution to this problem. But Johnson & Johnson (maker of Tylenol) and other drug companies would never allow it.

Here’s all you do… Create a powerful warning. And give it teeth.

We often hear about the dreaded Black Box Warning. And we’re always reminded that it’s the most “severe” warning required by the FDA. And what is it? It’s a box made of four thin black lines.

It has all the severity of a kumbaya sing-along.

You want severe? Let’s put up a warning nobody will ever miss. Make it an Orange Box Warning. And no puny lines. I’m talking about a quarter-inch border in Day-Glo orange. Put it on every product that contains any amount of acetaminophen. Put it on the box. Put it on the bottle. Put it on the lid of the bottle. Put it on an insert inside the box.

I guarantee — in one year, accidental overdoses will plummet.

For anyone who thinks that such an aggressive warning campaign is overdoing it, I’d like to share two stories.

In 1995, Marcus Trunk began taking codeine with acetaminophen to treat a sprained wrist. When he developed flu-like symptoms, emergency room doctors gave him further doses of acetaminophen. Within days, Marcus died of liver failure. He was only 23 years old.

In 2008, a University of Oklahoma coed used high doses of acetaminophen to relieve toothache pain for several days. She died of liver failure at age 19.

These two young people, and many more, might still be alive if the warnings on their medications were impossible to miss.

The FDA and all acetaminophen makers must stop avoiding this issue. Job one: post unmistakable warnings.

That seems like something they could easily get started during the next 364 days.

Sources:
“Prescription Acetaminophen Products to be Limited to 325 mg Per Dosage Unit; Boxed Warning Will Highlight Potential for Severe Liver Failure” FDA Drug Safety Communication, 1/13/11, fda.gov