10/29/98 New Evidence of the Harmful Nature of Painkillers
Americans ignorant of painkiller risks-study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans are ignorant of potentially
fatal risks associated with taking aspirin and other
painkillers, and many do not even bother to read the labels,
a survey published Wednesday found. Although 85 percent of the
1,000 people polled had taken a pain reliever such as aspirin
or ibuprofen at some point, 47 percent said they did not always
read the labels and a third were not aware of the risks associated
with the drugs.
The survey, commissioned by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) unit
McNeil Consumer Products found that 74 percent of Americans
do not know that aspirin and other agents known as non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause stomach bleeding.
NSAIDs are taken by millions of Americans each day to relieve
arthritis or muscular pain, but they can cause
potentially fatal stomach bleeding with normal use. Last month
Dr. Gurkirpal Singh, at Stanford University in California, estimated
that 16,500 people died from gastric bleeding every year in
the United States.
McNeil, which makes many over-the-counter NSAIDs, said 43 percent
of the people surveyed did not know it can be dangerous to take
such painkillers along with some prescription medicines. Adults
over 50 are the most likely to use an NSAID but only 35 percent
of them read the labels that warn of complications, the survey,
conducted by Yankelovich Partners, found.
McNeil said it was teaming up with the American Pharmaceutical
Association to launch an educational campaign
about the risks of aspirin and other NSAIDs. It will deliver
kits to 50,000 pharmacists across the country which include
brochures to be given out to customers. Pharmaceutical Companies
are racing to develop new painkillers, known as COX-2 inhibitors,
which have the painkilling effects of aspirin and other NSAIDs
without the bad side-effects.
^REUTERS@
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