Kids’ cold medicine under scrutiny
Share Now on:
Kids’ cold medicine under scrutiny
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: We’ve been hearing a lot lately about problems with children’s cold medicines. Today, the Food and Drug Administration will ask an advisory panel for some input. Drug companies could be forced to pull some medicine off the shelves. Jeff Tyler reports.
Jeff Tyler: Some of the biggest drug companies have already volunteered to stop selling cold medicines designed for infants.
But Peter Lurie with the watchdog group Public Citizen says it’s just a minor sacrifice.
Peter Lurie The companies have agreed to take the zero to two-years-old products off the market, because they’re trying to save the larger market. Zero to two represents a small fraction of all the cough and cold medication sold in America today.
Will the move sway FDA decision makers? No, says the FDA’s Joel Schiffenbauer:
Joel Schiffenbauer: The actions taken by individual companies will not influence the questions and concerns that we raise with the committee.
In addition to safety, there’s also a big question about whether kids’ cold medicines are effective.
Again, Peter Lurie:
Lurie: When a product doesn’t work, no amount of risk is acceptable.
Each year, bad reactions to cold medicines send hundreds of kids to emergency rooms.
I’m Jeff Tyler for Marketplace.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
