FDA Panel Votes to Withdraw Youth Cold Meds

An FDA panel took a vote last week to ban cough and cold products for children under six years of age. According to the experts who testified before the panel, these cough and cold medicines are wholly ineffective in the treatment of cough and colds and have far more risks than benefits.

This recommendation comes just a few weeks after drug companies pulled pediatric formulations of cough and cold medicines for children two years and younger from drugstore shelves, citing some evidence of dangerous side effects and serious harm in youngsters.

The cough and cold medicines for children 5 and younger, which have been used by parents for years to treat common colds, will be cleared from shelves if the FDA acts on the petition from the advisory panel. Some of the more popular brands include Robitussin and Dimetapp Elixir. The removal of these medicines from drugstore shelves will radically change the way parents treat common colds in their children.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.