• Articles
• News
• Urgent tablet recalls

People who have bought Excedrin headache tablets have been advised to return the medication to pharmacies.

Pharmaceutical company, Novartis Consumer Health, in South Africa has issued a consumer-level, nationwide recall of the tablets after complaints of chipped and broken tablets and inconsistent bottle packaging at the US-based facility, which could result in bottles containing foreign tablets.

"We advise all consumers to immediately discontinue the use of Excedrin tablets with the expiry dates of 2013 or earlier, and return them to the pharmacy where they were purchased," said Novartis spokeswoman, Julie Masow.

The company said mixing different products in the same bottle could result in consumers taking the incorrect product and receiving a higher or lower strength than needed. This could result in overdose, dangerous interaction with other medicines, or an allergic reaction.

Novartis said it had not yet heard of any adverse effects related to the recalled batches in South Africa, but the company is recalling the medicine as a precautionary measure.

Larger pharmacies stock the brand from anywhere between R13 and R23. Clicks pharmacist Nikita Fynn said it was very popular.

"We are out of stock at the moment," she said. Novartis has suspended operations and shipments from the US facility.

Find out more »