Why useless decongestants are still for sale

Phenylephrine doesn’t work better than a placebo. So why is it still on shelves?

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If you’ve taken an over-the-counter decongestant in the past 20 years, you’ve probably taken something with phenylephrine as the main active ingredient. A Food and Drug Administration panel recently recommended that it be taken off shelves because it doesn’t work any better than a placebo. What happened?

In the above video, Vox’s Phil Edwards chronicles the history of the FDA’s regulation of over-the-counter medicines. That process is the reason that, despite decades of evidence that phenylephrine doesn’t work (especially in typical OTC doses), it’s remained an option for consumers.

Watch the above video to learn more.

Further reading:

Here’s the Congressional Research report on FDA regulation of over-the-counter drugs, if you want a rich primer: https://crsreports.congress.go....v/product/pdf/R/R469

This is the PowerPoint given before the FDA panel presentation and discussion on Phenylephrine, and it’s probably the most digestible way to get the full debate: https://www.fda.gov/media/171971/download

Here’s Part II of the FDA’s Zoom meeting on Phenylephrine (including the vote and discussion): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUyuzjjnGfA

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