FAST FEEDBACK: FDA panel to vote on painkiller restrictions to reduce overdoses

ADELPHI, Md. (AP) - Government experts are scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether Nyquil and other combination cold medications should be pulled from the market to help curb deadly overdoses.

The Food and Drug Administration has assembled more than 35 experts for a two-day meeting to discuss and vote on ways to prevent overdose with acetaminophen - the pain-relieving, fever-reducing ingredient in Tylenol and dozens of other prescription and over-the-counter medications.

The FDA says that despite years of educational campaigns and other federal actions, acetaminophen remains the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., sending 56,000 people to the emergency room annually. There are about 200 acetaminophen-related deaths each year.

Dr. Lee Simon of Harvard Medical School attended Monday's meeting. He says while it's "very rare," such overdoses "can happen to anybody."

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Now we'd like to hear from you. Do you think pulling these medications off the shelves will help put an end to these overdoses? Leave your opinion in the comment section below.