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So many people take medicines that contain acetaminophen--28bn doses annually according to ABC--that even though it is "overall very safe and effective," as the network's in-house physician Timothy Johnson put it, that yearly usage causes 56,000 cases of emergency liver damage nationwide resulting in more than 450 deaths. Accordingly, an advisory panel for the Food & Drug Administration recommended that individuals limit themselves to 4g of the drug each day, equivalent to four eight pills of Tylenol's Extra Strength brand. Dr Johnson warned us to avoid the drug altogether on any day we may enjoy more than two drinks of alcohol.
The problem with sticking to those four daily grams is that acetaminophen is so ubiquitous. "It is a common ingredient in pain and fever reducers, cold and 'flu medications, sleep aids and prescription drugs," noted NBC's Tom Costello. ABC's John McKenzie reckoned there is a total of more than 200 over-the-counter brands that use it, including Nyquil and TheraFlu. CBS' Nancy Cordes mentioned Excedrin and Midol as part of acetaminophen's $2.6bn annual sales--leading doctors to believe that many liver-damaging overdoses are accidental.
Unlike aspirin, which reduces inflammation, CBS' Cordes explained that acetaminophen works as a mind-altering drug, "lowering the brain's perception of pain." The FDA panel also recommended that the prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet be pulled from sale altogether. ABC's Dr Johnson identified them as an acetaminophen-narcotic cocktail. CBS anchor Katie Couric asked her in-house physician Jon LaPook (at the tail of the Cordes videostream) if he expected that ban to be implemented: "This was a narrow vote and we are going to have to wait for the full vote of the FDA to see what happens."
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