Brits have reacted in shock after experts this week called for dozens of popular cold and flu remedies including Lemsip to be pulled from Britain’s shelves because they don’t work.
US health officials have already proposed getting rid of oral drugs containing the decongestant phenylephrine over concerns they are ‘not effective’.
If accepted, it could see popular over-the-counter tablets and pills discontinued the other side of the Atlantic.
Health experts are calling for the same to happen in Britain, arguing that UK customers are being hoodwinked by the drug firms behind the ‘useless’ medicines — which include Sudafed, Lemsip and Beechams.
But social media users were today shocked by the move with one claiming it’s one of the only drugs that actually eases a blocked noses.
Others, however, labelled the products ‘expensive con tricks’ and blamed pharmaceutical companies for ‘ripping the public off’.
In one post, a user said: ‘Was sad when they banned Nightnurse the only thing I’ve ever known to stop cold in its tracks. Now Lemsip!
‘Why do they keep meddling and making things worse for everyone.’
US health officials have already proposed getting rid of oral drugs containing the decongestant phenylephrine over concerns they are ‘not effective’
Health experts are calling for the same to happen in Britain, arguing that UK customers are being hoodwinked by the drug firms
Another wrote: ‘I had a Lemsip a week back with a stinking cold. It worked for me so keep your flipin hands off ‘em.’
A third, on X, added: ‘Leave my Lemsip alone! It is a MIRACLE DRUG.’
Yet, some users claimed the products are little more than a placebo in helping to fight colds.
‘Isn’t Lemsip, like, just soluble paracetamol that tastes s***?’ one wrote.
‘Get these expensive con tricks off the shelves. The pharmaceutical companies are ripping the public off!’, another said.
The concern over phenylephrine relates solely to oral formulations of the product, rather than nasal sprays which cost around £5.
Manufacturers claim phenylephrine eases stuffy noses by reducing swelling of the tiny blood vessels that sit inside the nostrils, making more space for air to pass through.
NHS watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, states orally-administered decongestants ‘may relieve nasal congestion in the short term’.
But social media users were today with one claiming it’s one of the only drugs that actually eases a blocked noses. Others, however, labelled the products ‘expensive con tricks’ and blamed pharmaceutical companies for ‘ripping the public off’
Manufacturers claim phenylephrine eases stuffy noses by reducing swelling of the tiny blood vessels that sit inside the nostrils, making more space for air to pass through
However, this effect ‘does not extend past a few days, and the benefit is relatively small’.
Other reviews have found that only in nasal spray form phenylephrine does seem to work, as it ensures the drug is delivered straight in the nose.
Professor Ron Eccles, who ran the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University before retiring from the university in 2017, told MailOnline today: ‘Phenylephrine should be taken off the shelves as it is an ineffective medicine.
‘Consumers can treat nasal congestion with oral products containing pseudoephedrine but this is not on the shelves and only available by asking the pharmacist for a product,
‘My opinion is that the nasal decongestant sprays containing either oxymetazoline or xylometazoline are about four times more effective than pseudoephedrine and also work within a few minutes.
‘So I would always recommend taking a nasal decongestant spray rather than any oral decongestant.’
Meanwhile, Dr Leyla Hannbeck CEO of Independent Pharmacies Association told MailOnline: ‘It is time for our regulators to intervene and give their guidance to help all pharmacists make the correctly informed professional decision.
‘The debate about the effectiveness of phenylephrine as an oral decongestant has been going on for some time and science now seems to prove that it is not effective while there are plenty of other products available for nasal congestion.’
Brands like Sudafed, Lemsip and Beechams all sell drugs taken orally that contain phenylephrine in Britain for close to £5
But, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, has refused to take action, given ‘no new safety concerns have been identified’.
Instead, it has urged people to continue using ‘as directed’.
The Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB), which represents companies making over-the-counter medicines, also insisted patients should not be concerned by the FDA ruling.
Michelle Riddalls, its chief executive, told MailOnline: ‘Consumer safety is paramount to our members, including those who manufacture products containing phenylephrine.
‘The products on the market here, containing phenylephrine, are combined with other active ingredients to provide the best possible symptom relief.’
The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposal will not yet have an immediate impact on the medications.
It is first seeking public opinion on the matter.
Only then, if the review finds phenylephrine to be ineffective, will a final order be issued, removing it from over-the-counter medications.
The FDA ruling on phenylephrine does not concern another popular decongestant — pseudoephedrine.
Phenylephrine’s use boomed after products made with pseudoephedrine were hit with restrictions in the UK in 2008 to prevent criminals turning it into the illegal drug crystal meth.
It is illegal to sell or supply any product to Brits which contains more than 720mg of pseudoephedrine without a prescription.
Earlier this year, however, the MHRA updated its pseudoephedrine guidance following safety concerns, meaning patients with very high blood pressure or kidney disease should no longer take it.
In exceptionally rare cases, this drug can trigger posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) or reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS), the medicines watchdog warned.
