Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Drug Recall - Please read this CAREFULLY

This is topic Drug Recall - Please read this CAREFULLY in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 02-22-2002, 12:37 PM:

I received this this morning and found three items in our medicine cabinet. Bob

URGENT - DRUG RECALL

All drugs containing Phenylpropanolamine are being recalled. You may want to try calling the 800 number listed on most drug boxes and inquire about a REFUND. Please read this CAREFULLY, as I know that some of you may USE some of these drugs (Alka Seltzer Plus for one). Also, please pass this on to everyone you know. STOP TAKING anything containing this ingredient. It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication.

Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children) seek alternative medicine.

The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine:

Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite Suppressant Plus Dietary Supplements
Acutrim Maximum Strength Appetite Control
Alka-Seltzer Plus Children's Cold Medicine Effervescent
Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (cherry or orange)
Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine Original
Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine Effervescent
Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu Medicine Effervescent
Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus Effervescent
Alka Seltzer Plus Night-Time Cold Medicine Effervescent
BC Allergy Sinus Cold Powder
BC Sinus Cold Powder
Comtrex Deep Chest Cold & Congestion Relief
Comtrex Flu Therapy & Fever Relief
Day & Night Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules
Contac 12 Hour Caplets
Coricidin D Cold, Flu & Sinus
Dexatrim Caffeine Free
Dexatrim Extended Duration
Dexatrim Gelcaps
Dexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine Free
Dimetapp Cold & Allergy Chewable Tablets
Dimetapp Cold & Cough Liqui-Gels
Dimetapp DM Cold & Cough Elixir
Dimetapp Elixir
Dimetapp 4 Hour Liquid Gels
Dimetapp 4 Hour Tablets
Dimetapp 12 Hour Extentabs Tablets
Naldecon DX Pediatric Drops
Permathene Mega-16
Robitussin CF
Tavist-D 12 Hour Relief of Sinus & Nasal Congestion
Triaminic DM Cough Relief
Triaminic Expectorant Chest & Head Congestion
Triaminic Syrup Cold & Allergy
Triaminic Triaminicol Cold & Cough

I just found out and called the 800# on the container for Triaminic and they informed me that they are voluntarily recalling the following medicines because of a certain ingredient that is causing strokes and seizures in children:

Orange 3D Cold & Allergy Cherry (Pink)
3D Cold & Cough Berry
3D Cough Relief
Yellow 3D Expectorant

They are asking you to call them at 800-548-3708 with the lot number on the box so they can send you postage for you to send it back to them, and they will also issue you a refund.

If you know of anyone else with small children, PLEASE PASS THIS ON.

THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF. DO PASS ALONG TO ALL ON YOUR MAILING LIST
so people are informed. They can then pass it along to their families.

To confirm these findings please take time to check the following
URL: \
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/default.htm

Posted by Rick Long (Member # 213) on 02-22-2002, 04:36 PM:

Good advice, thanks Bob.

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 02-22-2002, 06:08 PM:

"All drugs containing Phenylpropanolamine are being recalled."

Call me cynical, but wasn't this the same chemical that illegal recreational drug labs were using in the making of one of their products? IIRC, local kids (Miami) were buying large quantities of Sudafed, to the point where stores were forced to limit sales.

I NEVER (cough, cough) doubt the word of our freely elected government representatives (choke, gag)((never had sex with that Enron executive, not a crook, winning the war in VietNam, read my lips, Iran Contra)) and would NEVER consider that a fast way to get the compound of the market would be to SUDDENLY find, after YEARS of OTC use, that the drug was dangerous.

It doesn't affect me one way or the other, since I can't take the stuff anyway if I want to be able to urinate, but sometimes government scare tactics urinate me off. Next thing, they will be recalling martinis.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 02-22-2002, 11:11 PM:

>>Call me cynical, but wasn't this the same chemical that illegal recreational drug labs were using in the making of one of their products? IIRC, local kids (Miami) were buying large quantities of Sudafed, to the point where stores were forced to limit sales.<<

You're thinking of psuedoephedrine, not PPA. Pseudoephedrine is used as a building block for making methamphetamine, which is why stores have placed limits on its sale. AFAIK, PPA has been completely banned pending further study on its health effects.

-Aaron

Posted by Steven Gorsky (Member # 603) on 02-22-2002, 11:16 PM:

It was actually recalled a little over a year ago. They pulled everything containing it from the shelves, so the only source would be a medicine cabinet (or a country that didn't require it to be pulled). New products were released that contain a different chemical to replace affected products. See the Whitehall-Robins website {manufacturers of Dimetapp and Robitussin) for more information on their products.

What I heard at the time was the study that came up with these results may have been flawed (don't know for certain). Supposedly they didn't factor in other medications people were taking, things such as smoking, and dosages.

I used to take 12-hour Dimetapp at least once a day because of congestion problems. The only other thing I took that worked was Robitussin CF (old formula - was changed shortly before the recall). Now the new 12-hour Dimetapp has the exact same formula as 12-hour Sudafed, but Sudafed never worked for me .

Steven Gorsky

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-23-2002, 03:18 AM:

Aaron,

There has been guidelines that came down from the state about people buying large amounts in convenience stores and supermarkets about the drugs Bob Maar speaks of. If a person tries to buy these drugs in amounts outside the state's guidelines, the sale is denied.

In Washington State, Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride is on that list.
Dimetapp, Sudafed, Novafed, Nasal Decongestant, and others using this chemical are included. There was another Methamphetamine lab busted here in our area a couple of weeks ago.

The law enforcement authorities (WSP, the Sheriff's Department and the city police) are actively pursuing and busting these labs. They also go around to city schools and educate the kids in ways to stay clear of the drug and alcohol scene. It is working!

This is one area I think our tax dollars are well spent.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 02-23-2002, 03:33 AM:

Here in utah, most stores will call the police as soon as you buy more than THREE to FIVE boxes of the stuff.

Utah is of course the METH capital of the world, with more meth labs per capita then anywhere in the world.

And with the olympics on, a member of the state crime lab had said that now is a good time to cook up meth, as all the states law enforcement personell are on duty for olympic security.

Dave

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-23-2002, 04:07 AM:

I question the effectiveness of the state crime lab when one of their personnel comes out with a statement like that. That is like giving the green light to do it.

Maybe that is why Utah is the Meth Capital of the world.

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 02-23-2002, 09:58 AM:

Aaron, I did some web checking immediately after making my post and found that ephedrine and psuedoephedrine compounds were commonly used in designer drugs, but both these and phenylpropanolamine were possible precursor chemicals. I'm still cynical, especially since this group of drugs got the initial GRAS (generally recognized as safe) nod before 1960.

AFAICT, the whole recall is based on the one recent Yale study. Results of a single study questioning a GRAS product should only be a call for more research and an advisory, which is apparently what was initially done. Either the gummint or lairs (woops! lawyers) have speeded up things to the point of a recall.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 02-23-2002, 10:17 AM:

RE the "GRAS" list, Generally Recognized As Safe. Just because a chemical or ingredient has been on that list since 1960 or whenever doesn't necessarily prove anything. Standards and the scientific body of knowledge change. It's been said that if caffeine were suddenly discovered today, it would be a controlled substance.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-23-2002, 11:06 AM:

Actually, the police in general in Utah are about worthless. We once had a customer come in and buy three Nextel phones. It takes a day for them to be activated so he came back the next day to pick them up. In the mean time our phone salesman called to verify funds on his check that was around 400.00, only to find that the account had been closed 6 months previous. The police were called in and when the guy showed up for his phones the police did absolutely nothing about it. He didn't get his phones, but I thought it was also illegal to write bum checks.....I guess not in Utah.
Utah is also THE red light runnning capitol of the world! I ahve yet to see anyone get stopped for this traffic offense.

Mark @ Home

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 02-25-2002, 05:24 PM:

There's also DXM (Dextromethorphan) which is the DM in any cough stuff with those letters added. It's a pretty wild psychedelic apparently, and most compounds with a high DXM level and little else were voluntarily discontinued a few years back.
info: (not exactly "con") http://www.rfgdxm.f2s.com/

Posted by Christopher Santapaola (Member # 1015) on 02-26-2002, 10:49 AM:

Just a note.

Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) was recalled last summer by almost all states and officialy recalled by the FDA a little later. The pharmacy I work at pulled all products containing the chemical immeadiatly when it was being reviewed by Conneticut (thats what I was told the day I came in and they told me to take everything off self containing it). Most of the good pharmacys (ie CVS,Walgreens,Brooks,Right Aid,) and most if not all the independants removed the items when we did.

I have heard of a few companys giving refunds but some are now giving replacements of a newer formulation. For example Alka-Seltzer Cold removed the phenylpropanolamine from their formulation and now use the same decongestant sudafed does.

Posistion Pharmacy Tech. Everything I know about this is from newsletters and word of mouth.

Posted by John Schulien (Member # 215) on 02-26-2002, 01:22 PM:

Most of the articles I read when the ban was first proposed expressed surprise at the PPA recall, because even the FDA admits that the risk of a stroke is extremely low.

At exactly the same time as the FDA's recall of PPA, supposedly for medical reasons, the DEA quietly asked the U.S. Sentencing commission to add PPA to the drug manufacturing sentencing guidelines. Quoting from: www.ussc.gov/2001guid/appc-12.pdf

"Based on a study conducted by the DEA, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are the primary precursors used to make methamphetamine in the United States. Phenylproponolamine is the primary precursor used to make amphetamine. Unlike the five additional List I chemicals, the chemical structures of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and PPA are so similar to the resulting drug (i.e., methamphetamine or amphetamine) that the manufacture of methamphetamine or amphetamine from ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or PPA is a very simple one-step synthesis which anyone can perform using a variety of chemical reagents."

This raises the question as to the real reason for the ban. Is PPA so dangerous that it needs to be taken off the shelves, or is a relatively safe, effective drug being taken off of the market as "collateral damage" of the drug war?

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 02-26-2002, 01:43 PM:

If PPA was removed because it is supposedly used to make meth, why didn't they ban pseudoephedrine as well, especially if its more popular as a meth precursor?

-Aaron

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 02-26-2002, 01:44 PM:

"This raises the question as to the real reason for the ban. Is PPA so dangerous that it needs to be taken off the shelves, or is a relatively safe, effective drug being taken off of the market as "collateral damage" of the drug war?"

Precisely.

FWIW, the medical industry is at it again claiming that chiropractors can cause strokes when giving neck adjustments. The doctors want a ban on these adjustments, which have manytimes in the past helped me out of pain. Recalls and laws are regularly used as offensive weapons in turf wars and hidden agendas.

I've found that, as a rule, the scarier the headlines demanding change, the greater the chance that some numb-nuts greedy bastard group is trying to corner a market.

We should have worked together to ban TV as a health hazard when it first came out. Ultra-high voltages in the home?!? Tiny screens causing eyestrain?!! Radiation coming out the front of the tube?!!! Kids becoming hypnotized? We missed the boat, guys.

Posted by Heyward Garner (Member # 722) on 03-05-2002, 03:43 AM:

I dunno... I have never fully trusted (in general) the medical proffesion. There's something seriously wrong when, after hundreds (thousands) of years it's still called "practice." Funk that! Chinese medicine was more advanced thousands of years ago than a lot of it is today, but they still can't give us a 100% affirmative...? Hmmmmmmmm...