Summary
The FDA has proposed removing oral phenylephrine, a common ingredient in over-the-counter cold medicines like NyQuil and Sudafed, due to evidence that it is ineffective as a nasal decongestant.
The proposal follows a unanimous vote by FDA advisers last year, and recent studies showing less than 1% of the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream when taken orally.
The public comment period ends on May 7, after which the FDA may finalize the ban.
About time. Thankfully in Australia we can still get access to the ones containing psuedoephedrine, which works amazingly well.
Can’t believe it has taken this long to see the inefficacy of these.
In the US, you can still get the stuff containing pseudoephedrine but you have to go to the pharmacy and ask for it and then show your ID. Out of curiosity, what’s the process in Australia?
Exactly the same, pharmacist will request to see your ID.
It’s the same here. The Therapeutic Goods Administration, our equivalent to the FDA, generally follows along with FDA regulations (though I don’t think that will continue from next year somehow).
Yeah, might be hard to follow FDA regulations when the FDA gets dismantled and no longer exists… eye twitch