Taking the guesswork out of OTC meds

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Almost all over-the-counter medications that roll off production lines beginning May 16 will have new, simpler to read labels.

The new "Drug Facts" labels will make it easier for all consumers to select the right drugs and avoid duplication.

"This will help all Americans -- it will help parents choose the right medication for their children and themselves," said Eileen Shapiro, spokesperson for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The new labels will have larger print, which will be especially helpful for elderly people, who use one-third of all OTC medications.

"The format will be the same for all labels. So, for instance, you know on every medication the active ingredient will be in the first box and the purpose -- will the drug help you? -- will be in the second space," Shapiro said.

EXTRA INFORMATION Check out the new drug labels

Ray Bullman, who is with the National Council on Patient Information and Education, said it will be critically important for consumers to pay attention to the warnings section of the label.

The new labels eliminate terms that can be confusing such as "precaution," "indication," and "contraindication." A lot of the information is now in the form of bullet point lists.

"The old labels listed the information in paragraph form so you had to fish through them to find the information you need," said Shapiro. "The old labels were OK; these will be better."

Recently revised food labels served as a catalyst for the change in drug labels. For about five years consumer and health care groups have worked on devising the new labels.

"This will be a tremendous help for consumers. The new labels should reduce side effects associated with using the wrong medication or using too many drugs with the same active ingredient," Shapiro said.

"If you were discouraged in the past by the labels or were taking medications that were not helpful because they contained the wrong active ingredient, you should feel encouraged now."

The new "Drug Facts" labels come at a time when Americans are using more OTCs than ever before and will be found on approximately 100,000 of these medications. Some medications may be exempt because of their small size.