Every year, millions of people used the drug ranitidine to treat heartburn. The branded name is Zantac. Despite this widespread use, officials recently determined that it poses a cancer risk, and it has been recalled.
The issue is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has acceptable levels set for N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). The amount that was found in Zantac exceeded those levels. This is an issue since NDMA has officially been classified as a probable human carcinogen.
Now, you can find NDMA in many other sources. These include vegetables, meats, water and dairy products. It is an environmental factor that impacts everyone to a certain degree. That’s why the FDA has acceptable levels set for products sold to consumers. By exceeding those levels, the fear is that Zantac and related medications could expose people to far more risk than they would see under normal conditions.
The problem, of course, is that this drug was widely used by millions of Americans. Some of them had been using it for years. Some of them used it regularly. All of them thought that it was safe to do so, as long as they followed the directions on the box. This recall brings that into question. Were those consumers misled so that they actually exposed themselves to serious cancer risks when they did not have any idea that is what they were doing?
If you are one of the millions of people who used Zantac, you may want to find out more about your legal options, especially if you have also been diagnosed with cancer caused by NDMA.
