So what "dangerous" product should you not give your children now? Cough syrup, if you were watching the October 3 "Early Show."
"They're safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them to be dangerous," said Dr. Alanna Levine, a pediatrician based in Englewood Hospital in New York.
The CBS segment focused on new regulations of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but left out any representation by pharmaceutical companies or trade organizations.
Levine stressed problems with use of the product telling viewers that emergency rooms see up to 7,000 children a year, but she focused on the medicines, not on the caregivers improperly administering them to children.
"Studies show that they don't work [when used properly]," Levine said when asked if they work by Smith. "Making them drowsy is not helping cough and cold symptoms."
A "multiyear plan" is in the works to increase regulation, according to Linda Suydam, president of Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA).
Suydam said in an October 2 statement that the plan is "specifically designed to help improve the safe use of [over the counter cough and cold medicines] and reaffirm the efficacy of these medicines. The leading makers of these medicines remain committed to working with FDA and pediatric experts to ensure that parents and caregivers continue to have appropriate treatment choices for their children."
In late 2007 a number of drug makers, under threat of regulation, pulled products marketed to children under two years old.
—Paul Detrick is a research analyst at the Business & Media Institute.
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From the linked
October 3, 2008 - 15:30 ET by motherbeltFrom the linked article:
New
regulations will include updating how cough medicines are marketed to
children as well as their safety – a process the Journal said would
take years.
Cough syrups are marketed to children? They have ads that encourage kids to pester their parents to buy cough syrup????
Give me a break!
Maybe they should look into those ads for adult medicines that encourage everyone to "ask your doctor if XXX is right for you."
At least a third of all prescriptions are written at the request of the patient. Do they think if it's prescribed by a doctor, there won't be side effects?
And is anything more annoying than those people talking conversationally about side effects that may occur and who shouldn't take them????
Sorry I got off track...I think I'm done now. LOL
Great catch here Mr.
October 3, 2008 - 15:35 ET by bigtimerGreat catch here Mr. Detrick...
I really tire of these networks and their constant know-it-all sissified scares, let alone an agenda to hurt some of these companies...
My biggest bitch about this all the time is like you say...they never ever, the talking heads or the so-called expert doctors they have on the show hold the parents or care-givers whoever they be responsible...or accountable.
Heck in this country anymore, we aren't even responsible for our own selves from the time we wake up in the morning til bed-time.
We need a govt. 911 number to call to get our complete instructions for the day....we are going into an abyss of socialism fast.
I am sickened by what I see happening daily, and today is a mighty big one.
<edit> btw..I forgot to add in a boon for the leftist trial lawyers too with these reports against the companies..it is getting tiring.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Heck in this country
October 3, 2008 - 16:24 ET by motherbeltHeck in this country anymore, we aren't even responsible for our own
selves form the time we wake up in the morning til bed-time.
True, bt, but we are all held accountable for others!
mb... You got that
October 3, 2008 - 18:20 ET by bigtimermb...
You got that right...and we end up paying for it too...one way or the other...big time!
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
More from the Nanny
October 3, 2008 - 15:36 ET by HockeyKidMore from the Nanny Congress.
It's bad enough that I can't get Sudafed over the counter anymore thanks to the nannies in Congress. Now they're worried that if people don't use their cough medicine correctly, it might be bad. Congress to the Rescue!
I think it's time to get out the Ban Dihydrogren Monoxide (DHMO) petitions again--the nannies need to be reined in.
»→ DHMO
October 3, 2008 - 15:41 ET by Cool ArrowIt's unbelievable the number of deaths worldwide that can be directly attributable to DHMO abuse.
Welcome to the USSA
DHMO facts
October 3, 2008 - 17:58 ET by LionKingGet the facts on DHMO before considering a ban.
»→ DHMO
October 3, 2008 - 18:01 ET by Cool ArrowTrue enough, but I saw enough of the danger of DHMO inhalation on Baywatch
We kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon - Joe Biden
Ah ... Baywatch
October 3, 2008 - 18:05 ET by LionKingExcellent, excellent!
A terrific show with rivoting dialogue. Skilled acting by David Hasselhoff (sic) and the very talented, Pamela Anderson.
A truly visonary show that entertained and informed.
"They're safe if they're
October 3, 2008 - 15:40 ET by Tuari"They're safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them to be dangerous,"
This is kind of obvious, but you can practically misuse everything. Cars are safe if you use them properly, but they can be dangerous, pens, cleaning supplies, food, alcohol...
Last I checked, kids still pretty much hate cough syrup. Robbitussin isn't the most tasty thing out there...
News Flash!!!
October 3, 2008 - 16:26 ET by motherbeltLIFE....is dangerous!!
Danger! Danger! Will Robinson!
October 3, 2008 - 15:45 ET by Copperhead RidgeAutomobiles are safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them dangerous.
Fishing poles are safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them dangerous.
Toasters are safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them dangerous.
Houses are safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them dangerous.
Bicycles are safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them dangerous.
Chairs are safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them dangerous.
Shoes are safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them dangerous.
I work with someone
October 3, 2008 - 18:00 ET by NorthCoasterI work with someone who is always fearful of things. Our favorite qoute is "But is it safe?". We have great fun at times at their expense but as we talk about the safety they come to realize how foolish the concern had been and they laugh too.
P. S. I can visualize a scene where the robot arms are flailing and the red light is flashing!
A few years ago, a company
October 3, 2008 - 15:49 ET by MazziA few years ago, a company came out with patches that stuck on the chest, and were like the sticky Vicks stuff that works so great, but makes a mess. These patches were fantastic, all the effects with none of the grossness.
A couple of years ago they took them off the market, because, children MIGHT pull the patch off and chew on it.
Ummm hello? What kind of a kid would chew on anything that smelled like Vicks? But even assuming that some mentally-deficient kid might, wouldn't it have sufficed to put a warning on the package that they should not be used on children under 5, or something?
That one really ticked me off, because that stuff was fantastic! But, more important of course, is the smugness of the self-righteous-police: "your kid can't have this because someone else's kid might be stupid enough to abuse it."
"I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go." ~ Barrack Hussein Obama ~
"You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not joking." ~ Sen. Joe Biden
The parents or caregivers
October 3, 2008 - 17:54 ET by NorthCoasterThe parents or caregivers are the responsible parties here. Give a child too much water and they will get sick. It's the same thing with medication. If you follow the instructions and keep medications out of reach, they are safe.
Get with it, people,
October 3, 2008 - 18:35 ET by ckc1227Get with it, people, cough medicine is the old school, Bush way of doing things, and look where it has gotten us: children dying from cough syrup overdose. When Obama is president, there will be no sick, coughing children. Now THAT'S change we can believe in.
Obama's Economic plan: more taxes, more spending, more regulation. Prosperity here we come.
Getting back into this thread late
October 4, 2008 - 00:07 ET by Copperhead RidgeNo one will read this, but who here remembers Jarts?
There's a heckuva fun game that the nanny government took away from us.
So! A handful of people take a metal lawn dart through the skull, and the government has to ruin it for everyone. I always figured that the jart was doing Darwin's work.
Man! I wish I knew a blackmarket for those things.
Jarts were cool.
October 4, 2008 - 00:11 ET by R D HelmWe had a set when I was a kid back in the early '70's. :-)
-Dave
Palin/Anybody other than McPork in '08
Its got a hallucinogen in it.
October 4, 2008 - 03:13 ET by Parker1227Kids chug it to get high. The cough suppressant in it is Dextromethorphan, a dissociative hallucinogen in high enough doses.
I doubt if many of the emergency room visits are due to parents administering it improperly.
Parker
October 4, 2008 - 03:19 ET by RESTLESS 1Don't you have to go to the pharmacy counter to get it now? I know in Texas, we do.
"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
They'll get it
October 4, 2008 - 12:57 ET by NorthCoasterAnyone abusing these products will still get them. What's to prevent a child from raiding the medicine cabinet or asking an adult to buy it for a "cough"? This is already done with alcohol and other items like spray paint that get used illegally.
Dihydrogen Oxide was the subject of a spoof recently where folks took petitions to ban it around for signatures. It was funny how many people on the video of this spoof took the ban seriously without realizing that it was water.