If you go to an annual meeting of people whose industry is under stress (and whose isn’t?), depending upon the ages of the attendees, you often can see a long line in the gift shop because at break, people are buying over-the-counter antacid tablets.

Long, long before newspapers faced difficulties, the American Society of Newspaper Editors annual meeting probably helped the Tums agent for the hotel make the year’s sales target in just one week.  It was comical to see powerful men (mainly, they were men then) standing in line, clutching their tubes of relief.

Then came prescription antacids. Long-term sufferers begged for them.

This story shows that, as with all medicines, there can be surprises in the way they work.

NPR

“A significant proportion of the world’s population — and about 1 in every 20 Americans — are taking drugs that drastically reduce the level of stomach acid. They’re called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs.

“These drugs quench stomach acid almost like turning off a spigot. Taking PPIs typically reduces people’s stomach acid to less than 10 percent of normal levels.

“That’s a good thing for millions who suffer from heartburn or GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease. But a recent study found that when people stop taking these popular pills many experience painful “rebound” symptoms, often worse than before they started taking the drug. The healthy people in the study didn’t have stomach problems to begin with, but they developed heartburn, acid reflux and indigestion when they stopped taking PPI pills after three months.”(Emphasis added)

Source: National Public Radio, September 7, 2009