Some Experts Want to End Sales of Over-the-Counter Cough and Cold Medicine for Children

Oct. 2, 2008 -- Consumer groups and medical experts called on the FDA Thursday to pull children's cough and cold medications off the market or make them available only by prescription.

The pleas come as regulators mull a possible crackdown on over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children, sold by the millions in pharmacies and grocery stores.

Last summer, the FDA warned consumers not to give cold medicines to children under age 2 because of serious and possible life-threatening side effects. Now officials are considering limiting sales of products intended for children up to age 6.

The FDA estimates that as many as 800 cough and cold medications are on the U.S. market. Companies sell an estimated 95 million packages of pediatric cough and cold medications each year, according to Information Resources, a market research firm.

"A lot of people don't know that the FDA has never required companies to show their products are effective," said Paul Brown, government relations manager at the National Research Center for Women and Families.

The agency's options range from stricter labeling and packaging requirements to banning companies from marketing products targeted for young children at all.

Joshua Sharfstein, MD, the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health, urged FDA officials to take off the market cough and cold medicines for children under 6. He also said the regulators should recall millions of those packages currently on store shelves. "Parents should know that there is less evidence than ever to support the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children," he said.

The agency is also considering moving children's cold medicines from over-the-counter status to prescription-only sales.

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