Is acetaminophen still made from coal tar?

Okay, so the question is, is acetaminophen still made from coal tar? Honestly, that thought popped into my head the other day, and I had to look it up!

Basically, yeah, I think I understand that way back when, acetaminophen – you know, paracetamol, the stuff you take for a headache – used to be made from coal tar. Can you even imagine?! That’s just… crazy! It feels like something out of a Victorian novel, right?

But from what I’ve read, most of it is now made from crude oil instead. Which, okay, crude oil isn't exactly sunshine and roses either, but honestly, I'm kind of relieved. Coal tar just sounds… well, icky. Like something you'd find coating a chimney, not something you'd swallow to ease a throbbing head.

I mean, if I needed a painkiller – and let's face it, who doesn't sometimes? – I think I’d feel much better knowing that the drug wasn't made from, you know, coal tar. It's probably all processed and safe, but still... the image, right? Sometimes it's just about the image! You ever feel that way about something?