Drug & supplement interaction

Wine + Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate

Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate brand name: Fiorinal w/ Codeine.

Major Interaction
The bottom line Major

Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate falls into 4 drug categories that Wine can interact with; the most serious is rated major. Concomitant use may increase sedative and other adverse effects.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMajor
LikelihoodLikely
Interactions4
EvidenceC
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Wine and Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate

These two interact in 4 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 4 Interactions?

Wine interacts with whole categories of medication. Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate falls into 4 of those categories, so it can interact with Wine in 4 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Major).

Major

CNS DEPRESSANTS

1 of 4

Why this applies to Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate

Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate falls under CNS DEPRESSANTS — the group Wine interacts with.

Concomitant use may increase sedative and other adverse effects.
Concomitant use of alcohol with CNS depressants can increase sedative and other adverse effects, potentially through inhibition of the metabolism of certain CNS depressants.
Severity Major Likelihood Likely Evidence C

Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the thing with Fiorinal with Codeine and wine: this combination pill already packs two big sedating ingredients, the butalbital (a barbiturate) and the codeine (an opioid). Both slow down your brain and breathing, and alcohol pushes in the very same direction. Drinking wine on top of it can stack that effect, leaving you much drowsier, dizzy, foggy, or unsteady than you'd expect. In a worst case, it can slow your breathing dangerously, which is why this is rated a major interaction.

Alcohol can also slow how your body clears the butalbital, so it lingers and hits harder. On top of that, both wine and the aspirin in this medicine can irritate your stomach lining and raise the risk of bleeding. I'd really encourage you to talk with your doctor or pharmacist before mixing the two.

References
  1. Fraser AG. Pharmacokinetic interactions between alcohol and other drugs. Clin Pharmacokinet 1997;33:79-90. PubMed
Major

NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS (NSAIDs)

2 of 4

Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate also falls under NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS (NSAIDs).

Concomitant use may increase the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.
Concomitant use of NSAIDs with alcohol may increase the risk of GI bleeding.
Severity Major Likelihood Probable Evidence C

Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports..

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the thing about Fiorinal with Codeine: it contains aspirin, and aspirin is hard on the stomach lining. It thins the blood a bit and can irritate the gut, which already raises your odds of bleeding or an ulcer. When you add wine (or any alcohol) on top, those two irritants stack up, and the risk of stomach bleeding goes up further. Warning signs would be black or tarry stools, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, belly pain, or feeling unusually weak or dizzy.

There's also a sedation angle worth a mention, since the codeine and butalbital both make you drowsy, and alcohol deepens that. Please don't change anything on your own, just check with your pharmacist or doctor about how much, if any, is safe for you.

References
  1. Fraser AG. Pharmacokinetic interactions between alcohol and other drugs. Clin Pharmacokinet 1997;33:79-90. PubMed
Major

ASPIRIN

3 of 4
Concomitant use may increase the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.
Concomitant use of aspirin with alcohol may increase the risk of GI bleeding.
Severity Major Likelihood Probable Evidence C

Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports..

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the thing to watch with Fiorinal with Codeine: it contains aspirin, and aspirin can irritate the stomach lining and make it easier to bleed there. When you add wine on top of that, the alcohol adds its own irritation to the stomach, and the two together raise your odds of GI (stomach and gut) bleeding. This is a well-recognized combination, rated as a major concern.

What might that look like? Stomach pain, heartburn, dark or tarry stools, or vomit that looks like coffee grounds. There's also the separate worry that wine plus the codeine and butalbital in this medicine can deepen drowsiness. Please don't stop anything on your own. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor about how much alcohol, if any, is safe for you.

References
  1. Fraser AG. Pharmacokinetic interactions between alcohol and other drugs. Clin Pharmacokinet 1997;33:79-90. PubMed
Moderate

NARCOTIC DRUGS

4 of 4

Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate also falls under NARCOTIC DRUGS.

Concomitant use of large amounts of alcohol may decrease the metabolism of narcotic drugs.
Concomitant consumption of large amounts of alcohol can decrease the metabolism of narcotic drugs.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence C

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Let's talk about Fiorinal with Codeine and wine. This combo pill is a real heavy hitter: it has codeine (a narcotic painkiller), butalbital (a barbiturate sedative), aspirin, and caffeine. When you drink a meaningful amount of alcohol, your body can clear the narcotic more slowly, so it lingers and hits harder. On top of that, wine and these medicines are both sedating, so the effects stack up.

What that looks like in real life: more drowsiness, dizziness, foggy thinking, and in a worst case, dangerously slow breathing. The aspirin piece also raises your stomach-bleeding risk when alcohol is added. A glass with dinner isn't the same as heavy drinking, but please don't make any changes on your own. Check with your pharmacist or doctor first.

References
  1. Fraser AG. Pharmacokinetic interactions between alcohol and other drugs. Clin Pharmacokinet 1997;33:79-90. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Wine Also Interacts With Other Medications

Wine has 655 major, 270 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Wine

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Wine. Pick one to open its full report.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate

This page covers Wine only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate page lists 398 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Asarabacca (major), Beer (major) and Danshen (major).

By severity: 17 major · 334 moderate · 47 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate page

“Fiorinal with Codeine packs four active drugs into one capsule, and I would treat its supplement list with genuine wariness rather than a quick skim. The aspirin component is why roughly half of the 398 ingredients on file raise bleeding risk, while the codeine and butalbital explain a second large cluster that deepens sedation, someti…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Wine as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 8 real supplement products containing Wine, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Wine. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate too, on top of Wine — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Wine and Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Wine
Top half

#541 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate
Steady interest

#1,598 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Supplement

About Wine

What is Wine?

  • Social and relaxation use
  • Heart health (popular belief)
  • Antioxidant intake
  • Aiding digestion (traditional use)
  • Culinary flavoring

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes and is not a true dietary supplement or medicine. Despite popular claims about heart benefits, the alcohol it contains carries real health risks, and no amount of drinking can be recommended to improve health. If you drink, do so in moderation, and avoid alcohol entirely during pregnancy or if you have certain medical conditions.

Read the full Wine monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Wine

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Wine — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

655Major
270Moderate
0Minor
1,904No known interaction
Major

655 interactions

Showing 60 of 655 major interactions — see all 655 on the Wine page.

Moderate

270 interactions

Showing 60 of 270 moderate interactions — see all 270 on the Wine page.

No interaction 1,904 drugs checked — show the list
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Wine and Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate Together: Common Questions

Can you take Wine with Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate?
This is rated a major interaction, so the combination is best avoided unless your doctor or pharmacist has specifically told you otherwise. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 4 interactions listed for Wine and Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate?
Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate belongs to more than one drug category, and Wine interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Wine and Aspirin, Butalbital, Caffeine, Codeine Phosphate interaction?
We rate it Major. This is a clinically significant combination that is generally best avoided, or used only under the direct supervision of your physician or pharmacist.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.