Too many people think no real harm can come from taking over-the-counter pain killers. But they can be wrong. Too much of any drug or any drug in combination with others can have dangerous results. Now federal authorities are stepping in to better warn the millions of Americans who take pills daily.

The drugs are easily accessible, cheap and sold to anybody. As a result, consumers seldom bother to read the labels to make sure they take the pills properly. "People swallow these things like candy," lamented Dr. James Boyer, Yale University professor of medicine.

Consumers also ignore warnings about mixing pain killers with other drugs. They also tend to ignore the risks associated with taking pain killers and consuming alcoholic beverages. All this can, and does, lead to appalling side effects, including liver damage, gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney injury or even death.

To reduce those risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is mandating new labels, which include fluorescent or bold-faced type on labels prominently placed on containers. That's a welcome start, but it won't do any good unless consumers read and heed the directions.

Nobody taking a pain killer to get relief from a headache should wind up in the hospital from serious side effects because he or she didn't take an over-the-counter medicine correctly.