Drug Warning Labels Prompt Concern

Warning labels on prescription medications are misinterpreted by many people, a new study shows, with confusion stemming from their graphics, color and wording.

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay says the labels are designed to highlight what people taking the drugs must know. Instead, many users just don't understand the labels, according to the study.

The research, which was done by medical school faculty at Louisiana University at Shreveport, Northwestern University and Emory University, involved a survey of roughly 250 adults, who were asked about a variety of labels.

It revealed the confusion.

Senay displayed one common warning sticker, yellow with an image of a sun that has a slash through it. The label says, "You should avoid prolonged or excessive exposure to direct and/or artificial sunlight while taking this drug," meaning, don't stay in the sun while taking the drug.

But many people in the study thought it meant, "Don't take medicine if you've been in the sunlight too long," "Don't leave medicine in the sun," or "Don't leave medicine in the sun, but in a cool place."

Senay pointed to another label, red, with an oddly shaped human form, saying, "For external use only," meaning, use it on your skin and don't ingest it.

Yet, many people in the study thought it meant the "drug was radioactive, " "Use extreme caution in how you take it," or "Take only if you need it."

"So," Senay says, "people interpreted these in all different ways. And that's one of the problems."

The labels, Senay points out, aren't approved by federal regulators: "They're really not approved by anyone. They're made by independent companies, sold to pharmacies. That's one of the problems. They're not uniform.

"It's not only the graphics that are so abstract and the wording that can be confusing; people are confused by the colors, because the colors do not necessarily match what they're trying to convey. People tend to apply the stoplight analogy, red for stop, don't do it, yellow for caution, and green for go. But very often, the colors don't have anything to do with the information."

The researchers urge future uniformity in the labels.

"In the meantime," Senay adds, "many pharmacies and large companies are taking it upon themselves to redesign the labeling.

"Target is a little ahead of the curve. They have a new prescription bottle. We have a bottle … (that's) a lot bigger than the tiny labels, and hopefully more explanatory and easier for people to read in the future."