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(CNN) - CVS Pharmacy has stopped selling Zantac, as well as its generic version of the heartburn medication, for the concern that they may contain a substance that can cause cancer.
MIRA: Stop distribution of ranitidine medications for heartburn (found contaminants)
CVS, the largest pharmacy chain in the United States, said over the weekend that it would suspend the sale of Zantac and other products containing ranitidine until further notice. The US Food and Drug Administration. UU. (FDA) said earlier this month that it learned that some ranitidines, medications to reduce stomach acid and heartburn, including those known under the brand name Zantac, contain low levels of impurity that could cause cancer
Zantac and its generic counterpart have not been recalled, a CVS statement said, and the FDA has not recommended that patients stop taking ranitidine products.
Customers can return the products
The nitrosamine impurity known as N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, has been classified as a probable human carcinogen, according to laboratory tests, and this is not the first time it has been detected in a common medicine.
Since last year, the FDA has been investigating NDMA and other impurities in medications for blood pressure and heart failure known as angiotensin receptor blockers or BRA. Numerous recalls have been launched as the FDA found "unacceptable levels" of nitrosamines in several of those common medications that contain valsartan.
READ: Heartburn medications can cause allergies, says study
A study published last year in the medical journal BMJ did not find a "noticeably increased overall risk of short-term cancer" among users of valsartan drugs contaminated with NDMA. However, that study also noted that research is needed on long-term cancer risk.
Customers who have already purchased the products can return them for a refund, CVS said.
Jacqueline Howard and Jamie Gumbrecht of CNN contributed to this report.
Heartburn