2 months ago
- DayQuil and other cold and flu combo drugs contain mostly ineffective ingredients like dextromethorphan and phenylephrine, with only a small amount of effective acetaminophen, leading to extreme markups of over 6,000%.
- Ineffective ingredients in combo drugs contribute to unintentional overdoses, especially acetaminophen, which is hidden in many products and can easily exceed safe daily limits when multiple medications are taken.
- The FDA's drug approval process has broken down, allowing drugs with scant effectiveness evidence to reach the market, and once approved, they are difficult to remove, as seen with phenylephrine.
- Drugmakers package placebos with effective drugs to boost sales, discouraging innovation and creating risks of double-dosing on active ingredients, worsening public health.
- Separating acetaminophen from combo drugs could reduce overdoses, as shown by FDA limits on prescription opioids, and eliminating these products would simplify regimens and reduce interaction risks.