Don't Think Aspirin Works for Pain Relief? Bayer Challenges Consumers to Think Again

MORRISTOWN, N.J., April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to pain relief, Americans don't think of aspirin. In fact, in a recent survey of people who use over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers, only 8 percent of respondents report taking aspirin more often than other OTC pain relievers in the last year[i] – despite clinical evidence proving it to be an effective OTC analgesic.[ii] To encourage consumers to rethink aspirin for pain relief, Bayer has issued the Fast Relief Challenge and is giving away 100,000 bottles of Bayer® Advanced Aspirin so consumers can put it to the test on their tough pain. Bayer Advanced Aspirin dissolves quickly and rushes relief to the site of pain.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111011/NY83436LOGO )

"Outside of the United States, Bayer's Aspirin® is one of the top brands consumers turn to again and again for tough pain relief. In the US, aspirin's pain relief heritage has to a large extent been forgotten, with many consumers only thinking of its heart benefits," said Reese Fitzpatrick, Director of Marketing, Bayer Aspirin. "Bayer Advanced Aspirin was developed to provide the fast pain relief consumers want. We're confident that consumers will see just how effective the product is when they try it."

For 10 days, consumers can visit FastReliefChallenge.com and receive a free bottle of Bayer Advanced Aspirin to experience firsthand how effective it is for their pain relief. In addition, there will be special trial offers available throughout the summer. Once they have taken the Fast Relief Challenge, they can rate their satisfaction and how fast Bayer Advanced Aspirin worked for them.

Consumers can also help the Red Cross provide fast relief.  For every consumer rating received, Bayer will donate $1 to the American Red Cross (up to a total of $100,000) to provide fast relief in the form of food, shelter, emotional support, health services, clean-up supplies, and comfort items to those affected by the nearly 70,000 disasters each year.

"In a recent survey, 95 percent of those who tried Bayer Advanced Aspirin reported that they would use the product again[iii], but we don't expect everyone to take our word for it," says Fitzpatrick. "We'll be sharing feedback we receive from Fast Relief Challenge participants on our website so that everyone can hear about others' experiences. Hearing how Bayer Advanced Aspirin worked for people just like them may get some 'doubters' to reconsider aspirin for pain relief and try it themselves."

For more information about Bayer Advanced Aspirin or to participate in the Fast Relief Challenge, visit FastReliefChallenge.com

About the Fast Relief Challenge
The Fast Relief Challenge asks consumers to try Bayer Advanced Aspirin for fast pain relief and provide feedback on how it worked for them. Once consumers have taken the Fast Relief Challenge they can rate their satisfaction and how fast it worked for them at FastReliefChallenge.com. For every consumer rating received, Bayer will donate $1 to the American Red Cross, up to a total of $100,000. A total of 100,000 bottles will be given away during a 10 day period beginning April 16, 2012. (10,000 bottles per day.) The giveaway will start sometime during a two-hour period each day and will end once the 10,000 bottles for that day are gone. This two-hour period will change each day. Consumers can visit FastReliefChallenge.com to find out when the two-hour period begins each day.

Consumers should allow 7-14 business days for delivery. There is a limit of one request per individual, family, or street address and participants must be 18 years of age or older with a US street or rural address. P.O. Box requests will not be honored or acknowledged. Bayer is not responsible for items lost, damaged, or delayed in mail.

About Bayer Advanced Aspirin
Bayer Advanced Aspirin has been shown to relieve tough pain significantly faster than the previous Bayer Aspirin tablets after dental surgery.[iv]

Bayer Advanced Aspirin temporarily relieves headache, menstrual pain, minor pain of arthritis, muscle pain, pain and fever of colds, and toothache. Adults and children, 12 and over, should carefully follow the recommended dosage on the product label. Children under 12 years should consult a doctor prior to using Bayer Advanced Aspirin.

About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 16.9 billion (2010), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 55,700 employees (Dec 31, 2010) and is represented in more than 100 countries. Find more information at www.bayerhealthcare.com.

The Consumer Care division of Bayer HealthCare is headquartered in Morristown, N.J. Bayer's Consumer Care division is among the largest marketers of over-the-counter medications and nutritional supplements in the world. Some of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world today come from the Bayer portfolio of products. These include Bayer® Aspirin, Aleve®, Alka-Seltzer Plus®, Bactine®, RID®, Phillips'® Milk of Magnesia, Midol®, Alka-Seltzer®, One A Day® vitamins, and Flintstones™ vitamins in the United States, and, globally, Aspirin®, Flanax®/Apronax®, Talcid®, Rennie®, Canesten®, Bepanthen®, Bepanthol®, Supradyn®, Redoxon®, Berocca®, Cal-D-Vita/Elevit® and Vital 50 Plus®.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies more than 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

Forward-Looking Statements 
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.   

[i] Full Year 2011 Pain Tracking Research: An online survey of 2038 respondents aged 18+ who used OTC analgesic in past 12 months. Full results are proprietary.

[ii] Edwards J, et al. Oral aspirin in post-operative: a quantitative systemic review. Pain 1999; 81:289-297.

[iii] March 2012 Internal Survey: An online survey of 497 respondents who used Bayer Advanced Aspirin Extra Strength. Full results are proprietary.

[iv] Cooper, S.A., Voelker, M. Evaluation of onset of pain relief from micronized aspirin in a dental pain model. Inflammopharmacology 2012 Jan 29; DOI 10.1007/s10787-012-0121-0.

SOURCE Bayer HealthCare