The rules of marketing are about to change for the estimated 95 million packages of over-the-counter cold and cough medicines sold in the U.S. for children. There have been a lot of media buzz surrounding are cold and cough medicines sold over-the-counter safe and effective for children.
According to WSJ, The Food and Drug Administration will rewrite decades-old federal regulations governing how over-the-counter cold and cough medicines are marketed to children.
John Jenkins, the FDA’s office of new drugs director, said the system that currently governs over-the-counter cold and cough products was really designed to grandfather the over-the-counter medicines that were on the market in the 1960s. The system allowed certain active ingredients (such as those in decongestants) to be legally marketed without obtaining prior FDA approval for each individual product. The studies used to establish the safety of those ingredients were mostly done in adults; current dosing recommendations for kids are simply reduced from adult doses.
Should the FDA have acted before now? I think that this is a VERY good thing, as I have a three year old.