“The possibility of obtaining these medications without medical advice runs a too great a risk to patients“, reveals the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) this Tuesday, December 10. As a result, the agency has decided toban certain famous cold medications from over-the-counter sales and the flu, from Wednesday December 11, the day after the decision which was eagerly awaited.
In fact, these drugs were available in pharmacies and without a prescription. More “with regard to one part of the very many contraindicationsprecautions for use and known side effects pseudoephedrine and on the other hand benign nature of the common cold“, the ASNM asks patients to present a medical prescription to purchase said products.
“We ask prescribing doctors to carefully assess the benefit/risk balance for each patient before prescribing one of these medications“. This ban on over-the-counter sales concerns 8 famous cold treatments including Actifed Cold, Dolirhumepro Paracetamol Pseudoephedrine, Doxylamine, Nurofen, Humex Cold…
For what ? Because the latter are deemed “dangerous” for several years. Sold in the form of tablets or nasal spray, these treatments are used to relieve congestion in case of blocked or runny nosevery frequent phenomena as winter approaches. Gold, the ANSM has had these anti-cold medications in its sights for a while…
Because they can cause very serious side effects : stroke, heart attack, which can lead to death! Last year, the ANSM had already recommended to no longer use these products anti-cold. Message received by the French population since the sale of these drugs had fallen. But since the start of the school year in September, patients go to pharmacies to buy them.
“The risk reduction measures we have put in place, such as the ban on advertising to the general publicregular information on the dangers linked to oral vasoconstrictors, as well as provision of practical documents for patients and pharmacists, have not sufficiently reduced the population exposed to the risk of occurrence of rare but serious side effects“, regrets the ANSM.
The ban on sales without a prescription for these medications has been difficult to set uphence the different preliminary methods of the ANSM to try to discourage purchases. Because to ban a drug from over-the-counter sale, it is necessary comply with European regulations and have authorization from the EMA (the European Medicines Agency).
But, she had judged, in 2023, that the risks were not sufficient to prohibit the sale of these drugs without a prescription. She was content toimpose new contraindications. In fact, the side effects are very serious but above all very rare. Only a few are reported in France, and never one was until the death of the patient.
But for the French authorities, supported by ENT specialists, general practitioners and pharmacistsdecided to finally position yourself for sales on medical prescription because even if the risk is minimal, the treated illness, the cold, doesn’t deserve to take such a big risk.
Of course, a cold is very unpleasant to live with on a daily basisprevents you from sleeping properly. But by arming himself with patience, he disappears in 7 to 10 days, with or without medication. To relieve the symptoms, there are always more natural and risk-free solutions : washing the nose with saline and salt water nasal sprays.
Article references:
Deemed dangerous, several anti-cold medications banned from over-the-counter sales in pharmacies, LeFigaroSanté (December 9, 2024), LeFigaro with AFP
