OTC Drug Makers to Stop Producing Infant Doses of Acetaminophen

Comstock/Thinkstoc(WASHINGTON) -- The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) announced Thursday on behalf of over-the-counter (OTC) drug manufacturers that parents will no longer find acetaminophen in concentrated infant drops at their local drugstores. Pediatric liquid acetaminophen for children 12 and under will only be sold in a 160 mg/5L concentration.

"CHPA member companies are voluntarily making this conversion to one concentration to make it easier for parents and caregivers to appropriately use single-ingredient liquid acetaminophen," said the CHPA President Scott Melville in a statement Thursday.

Melville added that the association is committed to educating parents and caregivers about the proper amounts and methods for giving these medications to their children.

While OTC manufacturers will continue to include cups with these medications for older children, they will also provide syringes with dose restrictors in products for infants.  Earlier this week, the FDA release guidelines recommending manufacturers to such devices.

Recent studies report that parents and caregivers often give children incorrect doses of OTC liquid medications due to poorly marked packaging and because they often use household spoons, according to MedPage Today.

The change will take place in mid-2011 after a transition period during which the concentrated products may still appear on store shelves for a time.

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