A Tylenol recall that only covered Tylenol Arthritis caplets has been extended this morning to include more than two dozen other over-the-counter (OTC) medicines manufactured by McNeil Healthcare LLC, the arm of Johnson & Johnson that manufactures Tylenol products.
The other OTC medicines includes Tylenol Extra Strength, Rolaids and a number of children’s medicines, affecting 27 products in all.
The recall is in response to consumer complaints of stomach pains, nausea and an odd odor from the pills.
The odor was linked to the presence of a musty-smelling chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) which results from the breakdown of the chemical in the wood pallets used to transport and store the packaging materials for the drugs.
The only difference between all Tylenol pain products is the strength of the main active ingredient in Tylenol, which is acetaminophen.
Regular strength Tylenol are 325mg each. Extra-strength Tylenol are 500mg each and Tylenol Arthritis Pain caplets are 650mg each — the strongest dosage. Other than the dosage, there is no difference in the chemical structure.
This means ALL Tylenol products should be recalled. But that’s not likely to happen because Tylenol’s stock would plummet and put the company out of business. So this is a case of the public health being placed at risk to protect the market share of a large corporation.
