Pharmaceuticals
warn customers to throw away medicines after the expiration date. This is in
compliance to the US Law passed in 1979 requiring them to do so, and this date
is supposed to be the time at which the manufacturer can still guarantee the
full potency and safety of the drug.
However,
a study conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration at the request of the
military in 1985 showed that 90% of more than 100 drugs, both prescription and
over-the-counter, were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiration
date.
“So the
expiration date doesn't really indicate a point at which the medication is no
longer effective or has become unsafe to use. Medical authorities state expired
drugs are safe to take, even those that expired years ago. While it's true that
the effectiveness of a drug may decrease over time, much of the original
potency still remains even a decade after the expiration date. Excluding
nitroglycerin, insulin, and liquid antibiotics, most medications are as
long-lasting as the ones tested by the military”.
“If your
medications have been stored under good conditions, they should retain all or
much of their potency for at least one to two years following their expiration
date, even after the container is opened. But you should discard any pills that
have become discolored, turned powdery, or smell strong; any liquids that
appear cloudy or filmy; or any tubes of cream that are hardened or cracked”.
Recently,
three class action suits have been filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court,
Missouri were filed against the makers of Aspirin, Advil and Tylenol contesting
accusing them of using "unconscionable, unfair, deceptive, unethical and
illegal" methods to get consumers to throw away their products when
expiration date has passed, though the companies know "that if stored
properly these medications can and do remain chemically stable, safe and
effective long after those dates."
The cases used the studies
by Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University proving that these
products are safe and effective long after the expiration date.
“They
want the defendants ordered to disclose the meaning behind the expiration
dates, to provide accurate information about when the products are no longer
safe or effective, and to provide instructions on storing the products to their
effective life.”
http://www.courthousenews.com/
http://www.healthnews.harvard.edu/
http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com
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