Easy on the Tylenol: FDA Panel

An outside panel reporting to the Food and Drug Administration recommended today that the maximum daily dosage of Tylenol be reduced and the Extra Strength variety of the painkiller be available only by prescription, Bloomberg reports. The panel of advisers, whose suggestions are nonbinding, noted acetaminophen’s effect on the liver. The panel also recommended that prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet be banned.

“The most important target for our action is unintentional harm,” one member said of the Tylenol. “Education is a weak intervention and we really are looking for more concrete steps.” Tylenol-maker Johnson & Johnson argued that the move would push people to use ibuprofen products like Advil, which can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. (More Tylenol stories.)