We strongly urge you to consult with an attorney licensed to practice in your state about any particular legal problem you may have. As a consequence, many of the warnings relating to side effects and complications do not appear on the labels of these medicines. The doctor's knowledge and responsibility relating to side effects, drug and food interactions, and complications when prescribing these same medicines is thus bypassed. When a doctor prescribes a drug, the pharmaceutical company must warn the physician of problems and interactions relating to the drug. The doctor has a duty to evaluate and discuss with the patient the relevant warning information about the drug.
Manufacturers do have a duty to warn consumers about risks associated with their products, however.
An example of this duty is the warning stickers in cars regarding airbags. The duty of a pharmaceutical company, as manufacturer of OTC drugs, to warn consumers is less clear. This can create a potentially dangerous situation in view of the extensive potential interactions relating to medicines. Information concerning adverse drug reactions is not usually contained on the OTC drug label. It should be noted that a printed drug label containing adverse reactions is a requirement imposed upon the pharmaceutical manufacturer by the FDA with prescription drugs.