Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Tuesday against the effectiveness of the key drug found in popular versions of Sudafed, Dayquil and other medications stocked on store shelves.
The FDA assembled its outside advisers to take another look at phenylephrine, which became the main drug in over-the-counter decongestants when medicines with an older ingredient — pseudoephedrine — were moved behind pharmacy counters. A 2006 law had forced the move because pseudoephedrine can be illegally processed into methamphetamine.
If the FDA follows through on the panel’s recommendations, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and other drugmakers could be required to pull their oral medications containing phenylephrine from store shelves. That would likely force consumers to switch to the behind-the-counter pseudoephedrine products or to phenylephrine-based nasal sprays and drops.
Glad to finally have official recognition of what I’ve known for 17 years. (But was always told “of course it works, they wouldn’t be allowed to sell it if it didn’t work” with bonus implication that I was trying to be special/unique by finding it useless.)
Actually the nasal spray version works great. So they are idiots if they are talking about that. I use it all the time. Hope they do not discontinue that.
According to the article, they’re only discussing the oral medication. Apparently the metabolism process means that almost no phenylephrine gets into the bloodstream when taking orally.
Thanks. I did not see that in the article. The NYT article that someone else posted was more explicit. So I think you are correct. Hate to loose the nose spray version.
