Compound analgesic

Compound analgesics are those with multiple active ingredients; they include many of the stronger prescription analgesics.

Active ingredients that have been commonly used in compound analgesics include:

• aspirin or ibuprofen
• caffeine
• codeine or oxycodone
• paracetamol (acetaminophen)
• phenacetin

Several such formulations have disappeared from over-the-counter status in drug store aisles and other retail outlets. One example is APC (aspirin, phenacetin, and caffeine) compound tablets common from the 1940s to 1983; because of harmful side effects of phenacetin, Anacin in the U.S. was reformulated to eliminate it; Vincent's APC and Bex, an Australian cultural icon, are no longer sold. Some others have been judged to contribute too often to substance abuse.

The United States Food and Drug Administration also now requires that manufacturers of compound analgesics unequivocally state each ingredient's purpose.

External links

• APC definition and brief history.
• Bex packaging history at the Powerhouse Museum website.