What Should You Know about Zantac and the Risks?

Zantac is a commonly used brand-name heartburn drug that contains the active ingredient ranitidine. Ranitidine is also found in generic versions of this heartburn medication. 

Recently, the pharmaceutical company Sanofi recalled Zantac after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined the drug has "unacceptable" levels of impurities likely to cause cancer. 

The following are the important things you should know about Zantac since it is such a commonly used medication. 

How Does Zantac Work?

Zantac is a brand-name version of ranitidine that blocks the effects of histamine on H2 receptors that are in the cells lining the stomach. 

Histamine stimulates these gastric acid-producing cells called parietal cells to release stomach acid. With the H2-blocking effects of ranitidine, it keeps histamine from doing this. 

Zantac is classified as an H2 blocker or histamine-2 blocker. Sometimes it's also referred to as an acid suppressant. 

The medication was a go-to in many cases to help with the treatment of gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers. It was also, in some cases, used to treat erosive esophagitis. 

Potentially Harmful Chemical

According to the FDA, small amounts of something called NDMA were detected in generic and brand-name heartburn medications. NDMA stands for N-nitrosodimethylamine. 

NDMA is an environmental contaminant that's found in different things including grilled meats, vegetables, dairy products, food, and water. There are few studies looking at the effects of NDMA in humans-the reason it's classified as a carcinogen is because of animal studies. 

There are currently no reports of adverse effects related to NDMA in ranitidine, and there aren't immediate known health risks. 

The primary concern might be with high-dose, long-term exposure to NDMA. 

This substance was also the reason that many heart medications were recently recalled-they were found to contain it as well. 

Currently, the FDA is working to determine if low levels of ranitidine pose a risk. 

The World Health Organization does say their stance is that exposure to high levels of NDMA can contribute to colorectal or gastric cancer, and even small amounts might be linked to liver damage. 

The chemical was at one point in history used to make rocket fuel, and it's a byproduct of industrial manufacturing processes. 

Currently, the FDA's own research in this area shows that NDMA in Zantac and other heartburn medicines hardly exceeds what you might see being found in common food products, but these are just preliminary tests. 

Issues with Generic Drugs

The ranitidine issue brings to light other problems with generic medications. Around 90% of all the drugs sold in the U.S. are generic, and of those around 80% are made at least partly overseas because of lower labor costs. 

Insurance companies will usually only cover the cheapest version of a medicine, and that's why the demand for generics is so high. 

However, in keeping costs low, there may be less quality control for generics. 

According to some experts, there shouldn't be a risk of any cancer-causing impurities in drugs, but there's a growing problem of these situations when drugs are made in countries like India and China. 

No one, including the FDA, is testing many of the cheaper generic drugs to see what quality they are and whether or not there are potential impurities.

The FDA does do inspections at facilities that make drugs overseas, but they don't have the resources to do independent clinical testing. 

Sometimes, even though a drug maker is required to let the FDA know if they're planning to switch ingredients, the FDA may take a while to give them an approval so they company may go ahead and start using a new ingredient anyway prior to approval. 

What If You Take Ranitidine?

You should speak to your doctor first and foremost if you take ranitidine. If you're an occasional user of medicines like Zantac, your risks may be fairly low, but there can be a cumulative effect. 

You might want to speak to your doctor about alternative over-the-counter medicine that doesn't have ranitidine. 

You might also be able to make lifestyle changes that can help reduce your dependence on acid-relieving drugs. For example, avoiding large, fatty and spicy meals as well as alcohol might help. 

When a drug has the potential to injure consumers, there is the possibility to file a personal injury claim or defective drug claim. 

If you use Zantac or similar products, it's a good idea to keep an eye on any new developments and speak to a health care professional about what you should do.