
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 5, 1995                   TAG: 9506060156
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

SIMPLER DRUG LABELS HIT STORES

Americans struggling to decide which heartburn remedy to buy or whether that over-the-counter diet pill is safe are about to get some help: Simpler labels on nonprescription drugs.

Ecentually, there will be no more squinting at bottles full of medical jargon in tiny print, pledges the Food and Drug Administration as the first of these easier-to-understand products hits the market.

Trying to end confusion over how to chosses over-the-counter drugs, the FDA is preparing to require that medicines have the same sort of simplified labels that were required of food products a year ago.

The agency's goal is to let consumers be able to tell, at a glance and in layman's terms, how to properly use a nonprescription drug, its side effects and when to see a doctor. Up until now, this labeling by manufactureres has been done for the most part on a voluntary basis. It will take several years for all drugs to comply, but first the new labels are now hitting the market.

by CNB