After many years of promoting aspirin, the FDA now says that if you have not experienced a heart problem, you should not be taking a daily aspirin.
On its website, the FDA now says:
“FDA has concluded that the data do not support the use of aspirin as a preventive medication by people who have not had a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular problems, a use that is called ‘primary prevention.’ In such people, the benefit has not been established but risks — such as dangerous bleeding into the brain or stomach — are still present.”
Did you know that every year over 35 metric tons of aspirin tablets are produced and consumed? That’s about 1 billion aspirin tablets. In terms of usage, in 2005 an estimated 19.3% of U.S. adults reported taking aspirin daily! That’s a lot of aspirin! Aside from the GI problems and increased risk of internal bleeding, which has long been associated with aspirin, there is another reason to re-consider if aspirin is the right choice for you.
Taking Aspirin Daily Linked to Dangerous Skin Cancer
New research from Northwestern University (and published in the American Academy of Dermatology) found a connection between taking aspirin daily and the development of melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer). After examining the medical records of over 195,000 patients with no prior history of melanoma, they discovered that those taking daily aspirin (of which there were 1,187 patients) 2.19% later had a melanoma diagnosis, while the rest of the patients not taking daily aspirin only had a melanoma diagnosis rate of only 0.86%. These results were more significant in the male population. “Given the widespread use of aspirin and the potential clinical impact of the link to melanoma, patients and health care providers need to be aware of the possibility of increased risk for men,” says Dr. Beatrice Nardone (lead researcher). However, Nardone stressed the findings do not conclude that men should stop aspirin therapy to prevent a heart attack.
