A U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration advisory panel of outside experts voted 20-17 on Tuesday to urge the agency to eliminate products that combine acetaminophen with powerful opioids. Amongst the drugs recommended to be eliminated are the popular prescription painkillers Percocet and Vicodin. This is just one recommendation from the panel, which is currently weighing steps that the FDA can take to prevent the liver damage and even death that is seen in patients who take too much acetaminophen.

Panelists have also recommended reducing the strength of over-the-counter pain medications and other drugs that contain acetaminophen, and switching the higher doses over a prescription product.

They stopped just short of recommending a ban on OTC cough, cold and other medications that combine acetaminophen with other ingredients, voting 24-13 to keep them on store shelves.

Overdoses of acetaminophen, which is commonly known by its brand name Tylenol, has been linked to liver failure and even death. The FDA, however, is concerned that consumers are not heeding warnings and are trying to come up with ways to reduce the overall number of overdoses.

Before the FDA makes any final decisions, they will seriously weigh the recommendations of this outside panel.

In addition to Tylenol, other makers of acetaminophen or products containing it include GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer AG, Perrigo Co., Wyeth, Procter & Gamble, and Novartis. The makers of Vicodin and Percocet are Abbott Laboratories and Endo Pharmaceuticals respectively.