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It's not just that it causes cancer, but it's that improper storage (heat exposure) increases the risk of it causing cancer, and when informed of that, GSK deci
by bsuvc 4y ago
It's not just that it causes cancer, but it's that improper storage (heat exposure) increases the risk of it causing cancer, and when informed of that, GSK decided it was not worth doing anything about it.
> GSK's leadership was warned on several occasions about the storage issue, but it opted against making any changes to existing plans.
In a way, this makes it worse, because they could have taken action to limit the risk to people, but chose not to, presumably to save money or to avoid bad publicity.
- eikenberry 4y agoI read that it is only carcinogenic if stored improperly, which was one of the reasons it stayed available for as long as it did. The article doesn't seem to counter this idea. Do you have any references on the not heat-exposed risks?
- bsuvc 4y agoNo. I had heard Zantac was recalled due to cancer risk, but didn't know it was related to how it was stored until now. It's paywalled, but this seems to be referenced by a lot of reports: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-02/carcinogen-in-heartburn-drug-may-build-during-storage-lab-finds#xj4y7vzkg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-02/carcinoge... Maybe someone else has the actual source.
- zerocrates 4y agoMy understanding is that the carcinogen (NDMA) builds up over time even with storage at recommended temperatures, though increased temperature makes it build up much faster. That's what the FDA said when they pulled it from the market. How old your ranitidine would have to be to have too-high NDMA level without higher heat, I haven't seen any specifics around that. I imagine they could have instead instituted limits about temperature of storage and transport, and chop down the expiration dates, and add big warnings for consumers to actually respect the dates, not keep them in cars, etc... though the market reality that there are several other H2 blockers out there that haven't been shown to have the NDMA issue, not to mention PPIs, likely meant that just pulling ranitidine was the better call.
- blacksmith_tb 4y agoEven something as simple as telling people to store the bottle in the refrigerator...
- sockaddr 4y agoI think even that was seen as a potential “guilty conscience” risk if things went into litigation, so best to just let people suffer and die, that’s less expensive.
- dsfyu404ed 4y agoThis sort of "we refuse how to tell you to get better results because then some ambulance chaser could use that" behavior is all over the corporate world (albeit less in B2B than B2C).
- Scoundreller 4y agoif you have to sell your OTC medication in a refrigerator, your sales will drop a lot. It's not somewhere people think to look, and the impression is that it's perishable. Which people can appreciate for something like a steak, but not their "safe and usual" medications.
- bigtunacan 4y agoI would gladly refrigerate it if it meant I could still use it. I've never had another acid reducer that works as well for me as Zantac. I have so many major health problems that quite frankly I'll probably be dead before I could get cancer from this stuff.
- jstarfish 4y agoIt's still manufactured overseas. There are shady-but-legit websites that sell it. Nothing else on the market compares.
- BuckyBeaver 4y ago[dead]