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Re: grandma's aspirin

In a message dated 6/29/02 3:47:32 PM,  writes:

<< Also maybe we could speak to the
Pharmaceutical rep from Bayer but do you think they will care unless we could
prove statistically that Reyes Syndrome is on the rise? >>

I think it's a waste of time to discuss it with a sales rep since they have
no skin in that game and probably have little influence on issues like
product labeling.  As for Reyes Syndrome, nothing remains to be proven there.
 Probably the best way to influence the public is to put the information in
the mass media:  people learn everything they know from TV, so a commercial
or news feature would probably reach most people.  I could see Mike Wallace
or some other 60 Minutes reporter asking Bayer people point blank why they
continue to call the product Baby Aspirin.  The only reason, of course, is
name recognition and the profit motive.  The Reyes Syndrome thing with all
its attendant publicity happened when I first started practicing, about 20
years ago, when most of today's parents were little children themselves, so
it's not surprising people don't know anymore why APAP is preferred to
aspirin.  Since the two drugs are synonymous to most people, and generally
most people are not well informed about much of anything (since there is far
too much information for anyone to assimilate and retain nowadays!),  and the
product is labeled as a pediatric product, it seems understandable that
people are giving it to babies.
On the other hand, since it's a labeling issue, and pertains to misleading
labeling, and the FDA usually seems to handle those issues, it seems like
something the AAP could address at that level.
Stephanie Walker, RN, FNP