FDA: No quick decision on cold medicines for kids
Would you trust the FDA over your doctor?
Yahoo-A top government health official Thursday rejected pediatricians’ calls for an immediate ban on over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children, saying it might cause unintended harm.
But Food and Drug Administration officials at a public hearing also said they were uncomfortable with the lack of solid scientific data to support continued use of OTC remedies with youngsters, particularly from ages 2-6.
A ban — as sought by leading pediatricians’ groups — might only drive parents to give adult medicines to their youngsters, said Dr. John Jenkins, who heads the FDA’s Office of New Drugs.
“That is a concern for us,” said Jenkins. “We do not want to do something that we think will have a positive impact, only to have an unintended negative. That could be an even worse situation.”
With a new cold season coming, pediatricians are urging the government to demand a recall of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children younger than 6. The effectiveness of the medicines in children was never proven, critics say, and problems with the drugs send thousands of kids to the emergency room every year.
“When a treatment is ineffective, its risks — unless zero — always exceed its benefits,” Dr. Michael Shannon of Children’s Hospital in Boston told the FDA panel.
“We don’t see a public health emergency here as far as an inherent risk of the products,” said the FDA’s Jenkins.
The FDA and “groups” of Pediatricians. C’mon. Anybody who has studied the issue or knows anything about the current administration knows that the FDA is in the back pocket of big pharma. The idea that the FDA is the cautious party here is all “stage craft”. The FDA and big pharma would actually LOVE to eliminate all over the counter medications. Followed by herbs, vitamins and health foods. Don’t believe me? What’s the nutritional value of hospital food?