ABC World News (12/30, story 8, 1:20, Muir) reported that “Johnson & Johnson is recalling Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets, after consumers grew concerned about nasty side effects.” Correspondent David Kerley explained, “Tylenol arthritis caplets with an easy cap have been taken off shelves, all…bottles produced in the past three years.” J&J “says a chemical seeped into empty bottles, which led to nausea and vomiting for some users.” Back “in early November, Tylenol posted a small recall on its website. Twelve days ago, all six million bottles were recalled.” However, “it wasn’t until a nationwide FDA medical alert just this Monday that most people learned the bottles had been pulled.”
In an analysis piece, ABC World News (12/30, story 9, 0:50, Muir) asked senior medical editor Richard Besser, MD, to advise consumers what actions to take. Besser explained that consumers who “have the Tylenol arthritis caplets…should get rid of them” by safely disposing “of them in” their “trash.” On Wednesday, the deputy commissioner of the FDA, Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, said the agency is “looking into…the case,” Besser continued. He then added that “a system that relies on the consumer to either visit websites or to sign up for multiple web blogs or email alerts, I don’t think is the way we want to alert consumers about recalls.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
