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While it may seem like the only difference between extended-release Mucinex and its generic store-brand\u00a0counterpart is the price tag, the latter potentially exposes\u00a0users to a deadly cancer-causing\u00a0chemical<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Millions of Americans who buy the store-brand option at various major US chains are unknowingly choosing a drug that risks containing\u00a0a potent carcinogen called benzene<\/a>, according to a Bloomberg analysis of government data. Benzene can cause blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just looking at the boxes, consumers wouldn\u2019t easily be able to spot the difference\u00a0between the two medicines. They both contain the same active ingredient, guaifenesin. And while the inactive ingredients differ, benzene isn\u2019t listed among them. It instead\u00a0lurks\u00a0in an inactive ingredient, a white powder\u00a0called a carbomer.<\/p>\n Both medicines use carbomers to create an\u00a0extended-release phenomenon\u00a0that helps relieve\u00a0symptoms over a 12-hour period.\u00a0But while the brand-name version, sold by the British drugmaker Reckitt Benckiser<\/a> Group Plc, uses a carbomer that isn\u2019t made with benzene, the generic ones\u00a0sold as store brands by\u00a0CVS, Walmart<\/a>, Target\u00a0and Walgreens use\u00a0a cheaper\u00a0one made with the harmful chemical, Bloomberg found.<\/p>\n US regulators have allowed drugmakers to use benzene for decades, even though international authorities have said they shouldn\u2019t. In\u00a0recent years, testing has found dangerously high levels\u00a0of the chemical in some products in the US, raising concerns.\u00a0Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration\u00a0said the ingredient would be phased out of pharmaceutical use in 2025, a deadline that has been extended to 2026 following industry complaints.<\/p>\n \u201cThe FDA is continuously working to ensure that all drugs meet the highest quality standards with the health and well-being of Americans top of mind,\u201d Amanda Hils, a spokesperson for the agency, said.<\/p>\n In response to Bloomberg\u2019s questions about generic Mucinex having benzene, CVS Health<\/a> Corp.\u00a0said the company would work with its supplier to replace the ingredient. Walgreens Boots Alliance<\/a> Inc. said it works with its suppliers to follow FDA regulations. Walmart Inc., Target<\/a> Corp. and Rite Aid<\/a> Corp. didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The FDA has also been studying drugs sold in gel form that use carbomers.\u00a0Tablets, like generic Mucinex, are not included in that analysis, Hils said.\u00a0She didn\u2019t\u00a0offer\u00a0details on the results of the testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bloomberg\u2019s analysis found a few dozen drugs besides generic Mucinex that still contain carbomers made using benzene including Walgreens\u2019 version of Anbesol, an\u00a0oral pain reliever;\u00a0Walmart\u2019s Equate brand face moisturizer with sunscreen;\u00a0and Rite Aid\u2019s version of Bengay muscle rub.\u00a0<\/p>\n While most shoppers trust that store-brand medicines are just as safe and effective as brand-name ones, that\u2019s not always true. Generic drugs of all sorts, from eye drops to cancer treatments,\u00a0have been\u00a0linked<\/a>\u00a0to factories using unsafe practices, often to cut costs.<\/p>\n When it comes to store-brand generics, the retailer isn\u2019t responsible for the quality of the products it sells. Instead, oversight and liability lies with the manufacturer.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the case of generic Mucinex, the major US chains all source their extended-release mucus-relief medicine\u00a0from the same New Jersey company,\u00a0Amneal Pharmaceuticals<\/a> Inc. The drugmaker didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment, including questions about whether it tested its drugs for potential benzene contamination or how it plans to comply with upcoming FDA regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Swapping ingredients is \u201cdramatically costly and dramatically time consuming\u201d because it requires additional testing and another round of FDA approval,\u00a0said Vivek Dave, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at St. John Fisher University in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prices for carbomers\u00a0are not made public and companies that sell them contacted by Bloomberg didn\u2019t respond to inquiries. On Amazon<\/a>, India-based\u00a0Bangalore Fine Chemicals lists about four ounces of a\u00a0carbomer made with benzene for $4 less than the one without.\u00a0Drugmakers buying in bulk would potentially have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more for a less risky carbomer.<\/p>\n The inventor of Mucinex says there\u2019s no scientific or therapeutic reason to use a carbomer made with benzene. \u201cClearly, benzene is not viewed fondly,\u201d said Jeff Keyser, who\u2019s now the chief executive officer\u00a0of\u00a0a pharmaceutical startup called Renibus Therapeutics in Texas. \u201cThere are other things out there they can use.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n