The country’s National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC) has decided that sedating antihistamines, which are found in many cough and cold medicines, will only be available for children under two years of age as prescription-only medicines.
The reverse-switch – affecting the antihistamines brompheniramine, chlorpheniramine, dexchlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, doxylamine, pheniramine and triprolidine – will take effect from 1 September 2008.
At a meeting of the NDPSC in February, committee members concluded that the “safety concerns that have arisen with use of these drugs outweigh the evidence of benefit from providing them over-the-counter in pharmacies”. Members felt there was a “lack of evidence for efficacy of sedating antihistamines in children under two years of age”.
The move comes soon after the UK and the US took action on cough and cold medicines for children under two years of age.
Source: OTC Bulletin
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