A new study involving researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle revealed that 9 percent of their study participants who used large amounts of acetaminophen developed blood cancer, compared to 5 percent of those who took the drug and did not get sick.
Statistically speaking, this means chronic acetaminophen users had nearly twice the risk of developing blood cancer.
The risk was small -- chronic, "high" acetaminophen use raised the cancer risk from about 1 percent to 2 percent -- but still significant enough to raise serious safety concerns. Further, the definition of "high" use was using acetaminophen at least four times a week for at least four years -- an amount that numerous Americans could easily exceed without even realizing it. A large part of what makes acetaminophen so dangerous is that it's found in so many products; it's actually the most widely used painkiller in the United States.
My advice is to avoid not only prescribed medications at all costs, but also all OTC medications. They are not benign. I doubt taking one pill a month would hurt you significantly, but most people take them several times every week, or even several times every day! That is an enormous exposure to something that has been proven to double your risk of blood cancers.
When there are such good natural alternatives, why bother with painkillers that harm you?
