The proposed warnings would include risks of possible liver failure from acetaminophen and gastrointestinal bleeding from other medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and ketoprofen.
According to AP, Dr. Charles Ganley, director of the FDA office of non-prescription drugs said, "These drugs are used by tens of millions of people every week, and they are quite safe," ading that the problems could differ from person to person.
Previous studies have suggested that an overdose of drugs containing acetaminophen can lead to acute liver failure. More than 200 million Americans a year take products such as Tylenol with acetaminophen with overdoses amounting to 450 deaths a year from acute liver failure.
According to Dr. Paul Watkins, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, "People will take a medicine to go to sleep at night and they'll take a cold medicine and they'll take a medicine for their joint pains, and they won't realize that each one of those products contain, say, acetaminophen."
"They are unknowingly taking four times the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen," he added.
The new rules, when announced, would make it mandatory for hundreds of over-the-counter products with acetaminophen to list about its potential dangers prominently on the principal display panel of the container and the outer carton.
The containers would include a warning that acetaminophen overdoses can cause liver failure and that the drug should not be used by people drinking three or more alcoholic drinks.
The new rules would also make it compulsory for products containing aspirin and other painkillers known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen, ketoprofen and naproxen to warn of gastrointestinal bleeding.
