Source: Reuters
Pubdate: Mon, 29 Dec 1997

FORBES SAYS TYLENOL DANGEROUS IN BIG DOSES

NEW YORK (Reuters)  Tylenol, safe though it is in proper doses, can be
very dangerous in slightly bigger doses, Forbes magazine reported in its
latest issue. 

The monthly magazine said that in the eight years since a fiveyearold
died of an overdose of Tylenol, there have been hundreds of fatalities and
serious liver injuries attributed to acetaminophen, Tylenol's active
ingredient. Johnson & Johnson, whose subsidiary McNeil Consumer Products
Co. makes the flu remedy, has paid out millions of dollars in legal
settlements, it said. 

J&J officials could not be reached for comment on Sunday afternoon. 

Forbes said its point is not that Tylenol is too dangerous to sell, but the
question is simply one of disclosure. "Has J&J done all it should to
publicize the hazards of Tylenol? Why not warn about possible liver
failure?" the magazine said. 

According to Forbes, J&J says that "organ specific" warnings would confuse
people and mentioning the risk of death would promote suicides. 

Forbes said J&J's estimated annual revenues of $1.3 billion from Tylenol
may explain the company's reluctance to make people more aware of the
drug's "dark side." 

At least 100 lawsuits have been filed against J&J over acetaminophen
poisonings, half in the past three years, it said. In four cases in
Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio, the company has made outofcourt settlements
under agreements that require the plaintiffs to keep quiet about the terms,
it added. 

Copyright © 1997 Reuters Limited.