It's an open secret among doctors and pharmaceutical scientists that many of the available over-the-counter medicines on the shelves don't work well, if they work at all. This must be frustrating particular to people looking for help.

The research conducted two decades ago provided definitive proof that phenylephrine (a common ingredient in cold medicine) is ineffective, as a decongestant. The FDA was asked to remove products with this ingredient.

Sadly, it wasn't until an independent committee confirmed these findings that the FDA decided to consider the removal of a medication on which Americans in 2022 spent almost two billion dollars. There are other decongestants and other cough and cold medicines that really don't do what they claim to do! How exactly is this possible? Many of the over-the-counter medicines were approved based on aging data that fails to meet modern standards of proof.

Unfortunately, the agency doesn't have the necessary funding; required to properly study, evaluate and remove these ineffective products. One way to raise funding would be assessing a tax on drug sales or drug fees and require drugmakers to fund updated FDA reviews about what's on the store shelves.

Floor Covering Media publishes

blog articles called Flooring Briefs.

Floor Covering Media is

a social media network.

Retrieve timely, objective news and

information at https://www.floorsearch.info.