California Drugmakers Sued On Cancer Scares

A law suit has been filed by the California Attorney General againstnine major drug companies and other makers of calcium for selling antacids and calcium supplements which expose consumers to chemicals which, according to California's Proposition 65, contain chemicals that cause cancer and reproductive harm.

The suit alleges that defendants SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare, Warner-Lambert, General Nutrition Corp, American Home Products, Perrigo, Schering-Plough Health Care, Source Nutrition, Twin Laboratories and Pharmavite failed to warn consumers that their products contain lead, thereby violating Prop 65 which requires a "clear and reasonable" warning when consumer products present a significant risk of birth defects or other forms of reproductive harm.

Among products named in the suit are Rolaids Antacid tablets, Calcium Rich, Os-Cal 500 High Potency Chewable Supplements, DI-Gel Advanced Formula antacid, GNC Food Source Fortified Calcium from Oyster Shells and GNC Dolomite 11 Grain. Based on testing conducted at the University of California at Santa Cruz, all were found to exceed the California standards by almost a factor of 10.