SOMETIMES FATAL RISKS OF PAINKILLERS IGNORED

Most Americans are ignorant of potentially fatal risks associated with
taking aspirin and other painkillers,and many do not even bother to
read the labels, a survey published Wednesday found.

Although 85 percent of the 1,000 people polled had taken a pain
reliever such as aspirin or ibuprofen at some point,47 percent said
they did not always read the labels and a third were not aware of the
risks associated with the drugs.

The survey,commissioned by Johnson &Johnson unit McNeal Consumer
Products,found that 74 percent of Americans do not know that aspirin
and other agents known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can
cause stomach bleeding.

NSAID's are taken by millions of Americans daily to relieve arthritis
or muscular pain,but they can cause potentially fatal bleeding with
normal use.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady