Deadly Drug Sold by Founder of Partnership for A Drug-Free America, Says Forbes

New York,
Monday December 29

In its latest issue, Forbes magazine reports that there have been hundreds of fatalities and serious liver injuries attributed to acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, which is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Consumer Products Co. The Partnership for A Drug-Free America, which was founded by James Burke, the former chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson, regularly runs ads warning about the alleged dangers of marijuana. However, Forbes said J&J's estimated annual revenues of $1.3 billion from Tylenol may explain the company's reluctance to make people more aware of the Tylenol's "dark side."

Although Tylenol is safe though it is in proper doses, it can be very dangerous in slightly bigger doses, according to Forbes. Forbes claims that in the eight years since a five-year-old died of an overdose of Tylenol,  J&J has paid out millions of dollars in legal settlements, it said.

At least 100 lawsuits have been filed against J&J over acetaminophen poisonings, half in the past three years, it said. In four cases in Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio, the company has made out-of-court settlements under agreements that require the plaintiffs to keep quiet about the terms, it added.

Forbes said its point is not that Tylenol is too dangerous to sell, but the question is simply one of disclosure. "Has J&J done all it should to publicize the hazards of Tylenol? Why not warn about possible liver failure?" the magazine said. According to Forbes, J&J says that "organ specific" warnings would confuse people and mentioning the risk of death would promote suicides. There is no lethal dose of marijuana, which might compete with Tylenol for sales if it were legal.