Posting here as not sure where to put it and thought more people might see it here. Mods feel free to move if need be.
Just an FYI so people are informed
From BBC
MHRA press release 27 March 2008
Six baby cough medicines pulled
Cough remedies aimed at very young children are to be removed from shelves amid fears of accidental overdose. The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has ordered six products be permanently removed from sale for children aged under two.
They are Asda children's chesty cough syrup, Calcough chesty and Boots chesty cough syrup one year plus.
Also, Children's chesty cough and Boots sore throat and cough linctus one year plus and Buttercup infant cough syrup.
The medicines are to be removed from open shelves, and will not be sold by pharmacists for children under two. However, the medicines can still be given to older children.
Instead, parents are being urged to stick to paracetamol and ibuprofen medicines, vapour rubs and simple cough syrup such as glycerol, honey or lemon.
There are 12 ingredients found in the remedies causing concern.
They are brompheniramine; chlorphenamine; diphenhydramine; dextromethorphan; pholcodine; guaifenesin; ipecacuanha; phenylephrine; pseudoephedrine; ephedrine; oxymetazoline and xylometazoline.
The medicines of concern all contain a combination of these ingredients.
The MHRA says there is no evidence that such multi-ingredient medicines are of any benefit to the under-twos. There have been concerns in the US over such medicines after parents gave children the wrong dose, or more than one product containing the same ingredients.
There have also been some similar reports in the UK.
About 90 more cough remedies are to be removed from shelves until they can be repackaged to include advice that they should not be given to children under two. And, until that time, they will be kept behind pharmacy counters.
A full list of the affected medicines will be published on the MHRA website.
MHRA spokeswoman Sara Coakley said: "It's a precautionary measure. They are not dangerous."
She went on: "If they had been dangerous, we'd have had them off the market in seconds. Nobody should panic. "There's nothing wrong with these medicines, it was the way that they had been given."
Anyone who asks to buy these products will be questioned about the age of the child who is unwell. The product can be sold if the child is older than two and an advice leaflet will be provided.
The spokeswoman said the medicines could be dangerous if people gave a child more than the recommended dose, or gave them more than one product at the same time. She said the advice had been updated after they found many parents were unwittingly overdosing children.
She said youngsters under two are "particularly susceptible because of their small size", creating a "risk of overdose".
And she admitted there had been an increase in "adverse reactions" to the products, although she said this had been more widely observed in the United States where improved packaging had since been introduced.
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Just an FYI so people are informed
From BBC
MHRA press release 27 March 2008
Six baby cough medicines pulled
Cough remedies aimed at very young children are to be removed from shelves amid fears of accidental overdose. The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has ordered six products be permanently removed from sale for children aged under two.
They are Asda children's chesty cough syrup, Calcough chesty and Boots chesty cough syrup one year plus.
Also, Children's chesty cough and Boots sore throat and cough linctus one year plus and Buttercup infant cough syrup.
The medicines are to be removed from open shelves, and will not be sold by pharmacists for children under two. However, the medicines can still be given to older children.
Instead, parents are being urged to stick to paracetamol and ibuprofen medicines, vapour rubs and simple cough syrup such as glycerol, honey or lemon.
There are 12 ingredients found in the remedies causing concern.
They are brompheniramine; chlorphenamine; diphenhydramine; dextromethorphan; pholcodine; guaifenesin; ipecacuanha; phenylephrine; pseudoephedrine; ephedrine; oxymetazoline and xylometazoline.
The medicines of concern all contain a combination of these ingredients.
The MHRA says there is no evidence that such multi-ingredient medicines are of any benefit to the under-twos. There have been concerns in the US over such medicines after parents gave children the wrong dose, or more than one product containing the same ingredients.
There have also been some similar reports in the UK.
About 90 more cough remedies are to be removed from shelves until they can be repackaged to include advice that they should not be given to children under two. And, until that time, they will be kept behind pharmacy counters.
A full list of the affected medicines will be published on the MHRA website.
MHRA spokeswoman Sara Coakley said: "It's a precautionary measure. They are not dangerous."
She went on: "If they had been dangerous, we'd have had them off the market in seconds. Nobody should panic. "There's nothing wrong with these medicines, it was the way that they had been given."
Anyone who asks to buy these products will be questioned about the age of the child who is unwell. The product can be sold if the child is older than two and an advice leaflet will be provided.
The spokeswoman said the medicines could be dangerous if people gave a child more than the recommended dose, or gave them more than one product at the same time. She said the advice had been updated after they found many parents were unwittingly overdosing children.
She said youngsters under two are "particularly susceptible because of their small size", creating a "risk of overdose".
And she admitted there had been an increase in "adverse reactions" to the products, although she said this had been more widely observed in the United States where improved packaging had since been introduced.
****