BELTSVILLE, Maryland (Reuters) – Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be sold for young children because they are unproven and can be dangerous, doctors and consumer advocates said on Thursday, despite objections from industry representatives.
Experts urged U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials to ban sales of the products, which take in billions of dollars in annual sales and include versions of Wyeth’s Dimetapp and Procter & Gamble Co’s NyQuil, for children, especially those ages 2 to 6.
“Cough and cold medications … have not been proven to be effective and they have clear risks. It is time for them to be reevaluated,” Dr. Wayne Snodgrass of the University of Texas Medical Branch, said at an FDA meeting to discuss whether the nonprescription remedies should be sold for children.
Other medicines include Novartis AG’s Triaminic and Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol and PediaCare, among others.