I'm Warning You: Over-the-Counter Drug Manufacturers That Advertise in Spanish Should Warn in Spanish

I. Introduction Rosa Rivera's infant son, Jorge, had a bad case of the flu. In an effort to alleviate Jorge's discomfort, she gave him St. Joseph's Aspirin for Children. 1 Unfortunately, she could not read English and could not understand the warning printed in English on the bottle. 2 The warning stated that children with the flu should not ingest aspirin because it has been associated with Reye Syndrome, 3 a serious illness. 4 Rosa gave her son aspirin hoping to make him feel better, but instead he contracted Reye Syndrome. As a result of his illness, Jorge currently suffers from quadriplegia, blindness, and profound mental retardation. 5 Congress created the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to "protect consumers from dangerous products." 6 The use of inadequate drug warnings that affect millions of Spanish-speaking Americans, however, undermines the mission of the FDA. 7 Currently, the FDA does not require warnings in any language other than English on over-the-counter (OTC) drug labels. 8 This policy is particularly problematic for Spanish speakers because they are frequently the targets of in-language advertising. 9 An OTC drug manufacturer can advertise in Spanish, yet the FDA does not require them to warn in Spanish. 10 Consequently, Spanish speakers are aware of the benefits of OTC drugs through Spanish advertising, but drug manufacturers do not inform Spanish-speakers of the risks that accompany the OTC drugs. The FDA frustrates the purpose of federal law by allowing drugs targeted towards Spanish-speaking people to go on ...