Shocking Truth About ‘Fast-Acting’ Tylenol Sold in US Pharmacies

If you are in pain and want quick relief, you may want to avoid Tylenol fast-acting gels.

They cost three dollars more than the standard pills, but take even longer to reduce pain.

The disparity became clear Wednesday after a proposed class action lawsuit against Tylenol’s manufacturer, Kenvue (part of Johnson & Johnson), over “misleading” labeling was dismissed.

The chart above compares Tylenol rapid release gelcaps to Tylenol original. Despite the $3 price difference at CVS, the original works faster than the rapid version

New York consumer Evie Collaza led the class action lawsuit seeking an undisclosed payment for marketing the products as “rapid release.”

She said she wouldn’t have bought the notes if she had known they didn’t work as quickly as the original versions.

In the proposed lawsuit, she cited a 2018 study that found the pills On average 23 seconds longer to operate than the standard versions.

Rapid-release Tylenol also costs $8.29 for 24 tablets at CVS, compared to $5.29 for the same number of tablets of the standard version.

In the Study from 2018The ‘fast-acting’ Tylenol Extra Strength 500mg tablets and similar brands took about 3 minutes and 56 seconds to dissolve to at least 80 percent – the threshold for action in the body.

For comparison, the same study found that Tylenol Extra Strength 500 mg took an average of 3 minutes and 33 seconds to dissolve, which is about 23 seconds faster.

It’s the latest proposed class action lawsuit to be rejected by judges (stock image)

Ms Collaza said the difference meant she was entitled to compensation.

But U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan disagreed, saying the term “rapid release” is similar to the term “immediate release,” as defined by the FDA.

In the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), it is defined as tablets containing acetaminophen (the drug in Tylenol) that dissolve at least 80 percent within 30 minutes.

The judge ruled that the term “expeditious release” fell within this definition and dismissed the proposed case.

Johnson & Johnson previously claimed that the “fast-acting gel” label referred to a comparison with a regular gel capsule, and not a tablet.

They also said that the laser drilled holes in the gelcap are the reason for the price difference.

It is only the latest class action lawsuit over the price gap to be dismissed, after previous cases in California and Massachusetts were also dismissed by the courts.

In December 2022, a proposed class action lawsuit over the labeling was dismissed by supermarket chain and pharmacy benefit manager Albertsons.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns ruled at the time that “speedy release” was a term “very similar” to the phrase “immediate release.”

He said, “If we were to find otherwise, the FDA would have to list phrases in every possible combination of similar words to have a preventive effect.”

Tylenol is a popular over-the-counter pain reliever in the United States. It is estimated that more than 60 million Americans use the drug each week.

It is most commonly used by people with mild to moderate pain, such as headache, toothache, menstrual cramps, fever, and colds.

It works by blocking an enzyme responsible for producing chemicals that send pain signals to the brain.

However, some experts say it also has a placebo effect, where a person feels that their pain is reduced just because they took the tablet.

For 500 milligram tablets, as mentioned above, doctors recommend taking one tablet approximately every four to six hours, and no more than six tablets per day. There should also be at least a four-hour interval between each dose.