When we purchase over-the-counter drugs, we usually do so under the assumption that what we're buying is safe. This is perhaps true of all products on the market. We arrive at the conclusion that since something is packaged, sealed, or labeled, these outward appearances somehow convey an immutable trust. Of course, as smart consumers, we shouldn't allow paranoia to inhibit our need for products that will serve our interests, whether health-related or otherwise.
Just recently, however, the New York Times reported in a June 16th article on the recall of several over-the-counter drugs. While this is only a recent development involving the cancellation of children's liquid Tylenol, over the past year, McNeil Consumer Healthcare has blown the whistle on several faulty drugs, including 11.7 million bottles of Motrin medicines and 6.3 million bottles of Tylenol Arthritis Pain caplets since November of last year. What's more, McNeil recently recalled Benadryl allergy tablets and Extra Strength Tylenol gel pills, all of which were cancelled in its lot stages, before they ever hit the shelves.
The recent recalls have resulted from consumer complaints about moldy-smelling products. While the FDA has singled out a manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico as the probable culprit, Johnson and Johnson, as well as McNeil are both under investigation by the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform. These investigations are only in their initial stages, so it is yet to be seen how governmental intervention will play out in protecting consumers.
However the investigations turn out, it is important for healthcare consumers, as well as pharmacists, to be always vigilant when handling medicines of all varieties. In an age when more and more of our products are being manufactured offshore, the chances that something will be amiss as they pass through the production chain are greater. It is our responsibility as citizens to be aware of possible glitches, and to report them whenever they occur.
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