A Powerful White Powder - Britt Munro

Acetaminophen is a white crystalline powder (1). This compound is synthetically made and is represented by the chemical formula C₈H₉NO₂ (2).  Acetaminophen is all around us; it can be obtained and used by nearly anyone at anytime. I am of the personal opinion that this drug is abused by many individuals within society. This compound is seen in many areas throughout our society including industrial processes such as the manufacturing of azo, or nitrogen containing dyes, however this compound is more commonly used for individual therapeutic effects (3).

In its therapeutic form, acetaminophen is typically delivered as a pill; however other methods of delivery including in solution form or as a suppository (2). This drug has been known to remove pain, but continued use may be required to ensure maintained utopia and relaxation (3).  In addition acetaminophen can drastically reduce increased body temperatures (3). When mixed with other drugs, its potency can increase exponentially, heightening the effects of this drug. For example when this drug is mixed with oxycodone hydrochloride extreme pain relieving effects are obtained (2). 

From left to right (A), (B), (C)

Acetaminophen is metabolized in the liver where it is known to cause severe damage if taken in too large of quantities (2). Deaths in humans have been associated with the oral consumption of as little as 357mg/kg, making it more toxic than ethanol (4). The majority of this chemical is expelled and can be detected in one’s urine, allowing one to predict the amount consumed (2). Due to this drug’s affect on one’s liver, it is not recommended you take this drug with alcohol, as this increases your risk for liver failure (2). Coincidently however, this drug is often taken by individuals who are consuming or have consumed large amounts of alcohol.

So what is this powerful white powder that can make our pain disappear? Why it’s Tylenol of course... What were you thinking?

References

(1)Paracetamol. (n.d). ChemSpider: The free chemical database. Retrieved from http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.1906.html?rid=c288d981-4efb-4fdc-9999-12600b658e89

(2) Acetaminophen. (2012). Drug Bank: Open Data & Drug Target Database. Retrieved from http://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00316

(3) O’Neil, M. J. (Ed.) (2006). Acetaminphen. In The Merck index: An encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs, and biologicals (14th ed., p. 9). Whitehouse Stations, N.J.: Merck.

(4) Acetaminophen. (n.d). ChemIDplus Lite. Retrieved  from http://chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/ ProxyServlet?objectHandle=DBMaint&actionHandle=default&nextPage=jsp/chemidlite/ResultScreen.jsp&TXTSUPERLISTID=0000103902

Image References

(A) Jonny_automatic. (2006).Foamy mug of beer. Retrieved from http://openclipart.org/detail/ 1021/ foamy-mug-of-beer-by-johnny_automatic

(B) Tribe, M. (2007). Paracetamol/acetaminophen pills [online image]. Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paracetamol_acetaminophen_500_mg_pills.jpg

(C) Ryanlerch. (2006). Skull and crossbones.  Retrieved from http://openclipart.org/detail/1448/skull-and-crossbones-by-ryanlerch