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Tylenol/acetaminophen/APAP/paracetamol immediately came to mind for me as well. It's flat-out amazing to me that shit is still allowed on the market.

It hammers your liver really hard, especially in combination with alcohol. In fact, it's the foremost cause of acute liver failure in the entire western world.

The kicker: it doesn't even work very well. Other pain relievers are much more effective, and have a much higher margin of safety.

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The funny thing is that if you ask the average American whether Tylenol or aspirin is safer, they'd probably say Tylenol unless they specifically know about the liver issue. I think this ultimately comes from acetaminophen having remarkably few interactions, but has been spun by marketing into a general sense of "safety".

What pain relievers are much more effective than acetaminophen, and much higher in terms of safety? NSAIDs are a huge cause of bleeding and renal insufficiency. Tylenol is actually pretty good at treating pain in appropriate doses. Definitely a bummer when people overdose on it, fulminant liver failure is very unpleasant, but we have a great antidote for it.

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