On April 1, 2020, the FDA announced a Zantac recall, calling for manufacturers to immediately withdraw all prescription and over-the-counter Zantac and ranitidine products from the market, citing new studies that show a risk to public health. The risk involves the very molecular structure of the medication, itself. When ingested, Zantac produces high quantities of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a chemical that the World Health Organization describes as “clearly carcinogenic.” In fact, NDMA has been recognized as a human carcinogen since the 1970s and is no longer used for anything other than to induce tumor growth in rats in the context of experimental studies.
For years, the manufacturers, Glaxo (n/k/a GlaxoSmithCline), Boehringer Ingelheim Corp., Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, Sanofi US Services Inc., and Chattem, Inc., knew or had reason to know that Zantac exposes consumers to unsafe levels of NDMA. Nevertheless, they continued to sell this product and consumers continued to ingest potent carcinogenic substances unknowingly.