Kicking Useless Cold Meds to the Curb: CVS Takes a Stand

CVS to Discontinue Popular Cold Meds on Shelves Following Report Revealing Ineffectiveness

CVS removes ineffective cold medications from shelves

News Picture: CVS Pulling Popular Cold Meds From Shelves After Report Deems Them to Be Useless

If you’ve ever felt groggy and grumpy while battling a cold, chances are you’ve reached for a box of cough and cold medications that contain the illustrious phenylephrine. But hold on to your tissues, folks, because recent findings have left this ingredient out in the cold.

Phenylephrine, the active ingredient found in well-known products like Sudafed and Dayquil, has been deemed utterly useless by an FDA advisory committee. They ruled that this so-called “decongestant” does diddly-squat to ease your suffering from congestion.

CVS Health is now taking a bold stand against these ineffective remedies. The pharmacy chain plans to yank all oral cough and cold products that rely on phenylephrine as their only active ingredient off their store shelves. It’s the cold medication equivalent of saying, “Sorry, phenylephrine, you’re just not cut out for the job.”

But fear not, fellow congestion-stricken souls! CVS will still offer other oral cough and cold products that can meet your needs, presumably ones that have ingredients that actually do something. So, next time you need relief, just steer clear of the phenylephrine imposters.

On the other side of the aisle, Walgreens didn’t explicitly say if they would follow suit, but they did confirm that they follow FDA regulations. Come on, Walgreens, we’re all waiting to see if you’ll join the crusade!

Now, you might be wondering, why all the fuss about phenylephrine anyway? Well, it turns out that medications containing this so-called useless ingredient rake in a whopping $1.8 billion in annual sales, according to the FDA. That’s a whole lot of sniffling and sneezing!

So, to our dear readers, the choice is now yours. Will you continue to put your trust in phenylephrine, the con artist of congestion relief, or will you turn to the countless other options available? The decision is in your hands, and your stuffy nose will thank you.

More information

The National Library of Medicine has more on phenylephrine.


QUESTION ### Which illness is known as a viral upper respiratory tract infection? See Answer


Now that we’ve cleared the air on phenylephrine, we want to hear from you. Have you tried cold medications with this supposedly useless ingredient? Did they leave you feeling underwhelmed, or did you experience a miraculous recovery? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

And remember, even if phenylephrine falls from grace, there are plenty of other ways to conquer your cold. Stay healthy and keep those sniffles at bay!