Bush Administration rejects immediate ban on cough and cold medicines for youngsters

In earlier blogs, we have discussed the controversy over whether cold medicines should be marketed for young children.  Those marketed to children under two were recently pulled from shelves, and most pediatricians seem to agree that they are ineffective and not reasonably safe for children 2-6.  According to a Boston University report, these medicines are taken, in any given week, by an estimated ten percent of all children and US families spend almost 300 million dollars per year on them.  They do not reduce the severity or duration of a common cold, although they may alleviate symptoms.  They also send about 7,000 children a year to Emergency Rooms, due to accidental overdoses or medication reactions.  The Bush Administration has declined to prohibit their sale, pending further research.