Acetaminophen causes liver damage in as little as 2 weeks
We all know acetaminophen causes liver damage. Over a long period of time, though, right? Nothing to worry about if you're taking it for a brief time… Say, for a couple of weeks. No problem…right? Wrong. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association determined that it only takes TWO WEEKS for healthy adults to sustain liver damage from acetaminophen use. The study involved 106 people taking 4 grams of acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol, Excedrin and other pain killers) a day for two weeks. Four grams is the maximum daily dose recommended by the manufacturer, so we're not even talking about an "abuse" situation here. Not one person who received the placebo showed any signs of liver damage. The people taking acetaminophen, however, started having abnormal liver test results—an indication of damage. The study's co-author determined that people should not exceed 4 grams of acetaminophen per day. Which has me scratching my head—if taking 4 grams a day caused damage, shouldn't people avoid getting even CLOSE to that amount? Let alone over it! The FDA, in one of their rare sensible moments, saw these findings as cause for limiting the maximum daily dose of drugs containing acetaminophen to 3,250 milligrams per day, and for stronger labels warning of liver side effects. Of course, they're still riding the "increased risk to people who use them improperly" line. Again, they're maintaining that position even in the face of damage caused to people who were using the drug according to the label's instructions! Who can blame them, though, when they've got OTC drug makers breathing down their necks? A statement released by McNeil Consumer Healthcare (the manufacturers of Tylenol) said they fear the FDA recommendations could steer consumers away from an "appropriate and safe drug." "While we share the FDA's mutual goal of preventing and decreasing the misuse and overdose of acetaminophen, we have concerns that some of the FDA recommendations could discourage appropriate use and are not necessary to addressing the root causes of acetaminophen overdose," the statement reads. You know, it's easy to pay lip service to the "overdose" issue, especially when we're inundated with the message that we can just pop a little pill and pain will go away. But the fact remains—the subjects in the study weren't going over the very limits put in place by the FDA. And no amount of spin is going to change that. Sources:
"FDA Group Issues Cautions on Acetaminophen Overdose." ABC News (abcnews.go.com), 5/28/09.
"FDA Group Recommends Acetaminophen Liver Warnings." ABC News (abcnews.go.com), 5/27/09.
"Acetaminophen Overdose and Liver Injury—Background and Options for Reducing Injury." FDA (www.fda.gov) | 
