Popular cold medications don’t work, say experts, as US considers ban

A pharmacy drugs expert says many popular cold and flu remedies should be banned because they are a waste of money.

It comes as as the American Food and Drug Administration wants to stop phenylephrine, which is widely used in cough and cold medicines from being sold in the US.

The ingredient is in some of the best-selling remedies such as Sudafed, Benadryl, Lemsip and Beechams.

Hisham Al-Obaidi, a pharmacy lecturer at the University of Reading and an ambulance service advanced pharmacist practitioner, said phenylephrine hydrochloride had minimal activity when taken orally.

“Although it is absorbed into the bloodstream, it is extensively broken down in the liver, resulting in little to no pharmacological effect,” Dr Al-Obaidi said.

He said that by contrast, the nasal spray is effective.

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Source: The Independent, 9 November 2024