--- title: Pfizer Recalled Lipitor Due to “Uncharacteristic Odor” description: Pfizer announced it had recalled 191,000 bottles of Lipitor, the world's most popular cholesterol-lowering drug, because of a noticeable odor. The recalled pills were all... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7143946/pfizer-recalled-lipitor-due-to-uncharacteristic-odor/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2010-10-08T15:39:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T11:31:05.277Z article:section: Health og:title: Pfizer Recalled Lipitor Due to “Uncharacteristic Odor” og:description: Pfizer announced it had recalled 191,000 bottles of Lipitor, the world's most popular cholesterol-lowering drug, because of a noticeable odor. The recalled pills were all... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7143946/pfizer-recalled-lipitor-due-to-uncharacteristic-odor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6afdd1c69eb1eb4/698a9548db2987c7fe272014/lipitorcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 307 og:image:height: 173 og:image:alt: Lipitor And Crestor, Best Selling Cholesterol Drugs og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pfizer Recalled Lipitor Due to “Uncharacteristic Odor” twitter:description: Pfizer announced it had recalled 191,000 bottles of Lipitor, the world's most popular cholesterol-lowering drug, because of a noticeable odor. The recalled pills were all... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6afdd1c69eb1eb4/698a9548db2987c7fe272014/lipitorcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Pfizer Recalled Lipitor Due to "Uncharacteristic Odor" > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Oct 8, 2010 3:39 PM UTC  Pfizer Inc.'s cholesterol drug Lipitor is arranged for a photograph at New London Pharmacy in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, April 6, 2010\. Best-selling heart drugs Lipitor and AstraZeneca Plc's Crestor, lower production of so-called bad cholesterol, or LDL, by blocking an enzyme in the liver. Photographer: JB Reed/Bloomberg via Getty Images Pfizer Inc.'s cholesterol drug Lipitor is arranged for a photograph at New London Pharmacy in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, April 6, 2010\. Best-selling heart drugs Lipitor and AstraZeneca Plc's Crestor, lower production of so-called bad cholesterol, or LDL, by blocking an enzyme in the liver. Photographer: JB Reed/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg via Getty Images—2010 Bloomberg by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Oct 8, 2010 3:39 PM UTC Pfizer announced it had recalled 191,000 bottles of Lipitor, the world’s most popular cholesterol-lowering drug, because of a noticeable odor. The recalled pills were all bottled at a third-party facility, and sold to patients in the U.S. and Canada.more The drugs were recalled in August, but Pfizer spokesman Rick Chambers [told CNN](http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/07/pfizer-recalled-191000-bottles-of-lipitor-for-odor/) the company’s announcement was timed with a [recall notice](http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/EnforcementReports/ucm228605.htm) posted Oct. 6 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to CNN: --- > “” --- How the smell got in the bottles has yet to be determined, but the FDA [recall report](http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/EnforcementReports/ucm228605.htm) attributes it to the presence of a chemical called 2, 4, 6-tribromoanisole, which may sound familiar to some: Johnson & Johnson [recalled](http://healthland.time.com/2010/01/15/moldy-smelling-tylenol-recalled/) several batches of Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl in January following consumer complaints of a similar musty, mildew-like odor emanating from bottles. J&J says the smell was traced back to 2, 4, 6-tribromoanisole, a chemical that is applied to wooden pallets used to transport and store packaging materials. (**More on Time.com:** [Got Toys? Fisher-Price Just Recalled 10 Million; Check if Yours Are Safe](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/30/10930/)) J&J [ran afoul of the FDA](http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/15/news/companies/over%5Fthe%5Fcounter%5Fmedicine%5Frecall/) for responding to the complaints so late — reports of the funky smell dated back to 2008. **More on Time.com:** [Similac Recall Outrages Parents: Are Beetles Bad?](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/23/similac-recall-outrages-parents-are-beetles-bad/) [Egg Investigation Heads to Maine](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/16/egg-investigation-heads-to-maine/) [Top 10 Product Recalls](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1908719%5F1908717%5F1974910,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7143946/pfizer-recalled-lipitor-due-to-uncharacteristic-odor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7143946/pfizer-recalled-lipitor-due-to-uncharacteristic-odor/"},"headline":"Pfizer Recalled Lipitor Due to \"Uncharacteristic Odor\"","datePublished":"2010-10-08T15:39:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T11:31:05.277Z","description":"Pfizer announced it had recalled 191,000 bottles of Lipitor, the world's most popular cholesterol-lowering drug, because of a noticeable odor. 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