I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and internal medicine physician in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog. (Trivia: Kidney Notes is so old that the National Library of Medicine still uses it as an example of how to formally cite blogs.) • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Cold Medications with Pseudoephedrine are Going Behind the Counter

...because pseudoephedrine is used to make methamphetamine. From the Washington Post:

Many major chain retailers will remove most over-the-counter cold medications from store shelves over the next two months and put them behind pharmacy counters in an effort to help law enforcement tackle a growing problem with an illegal drug.

In some cases, customers will have to show their driver's licenses and sign a log to purchase relief for a throbbing allergy headache. Some retailers -- tight for space in the pharmacy -- are cutting back on the variety of products they will carry.

"It will be a big change for consumers," said Jody Cook, a spokeswoman for Rite Aid Corp. The move will affect more than 100 products, including common names such as Sudafed, Tylenol Cold and Claritin-D...

Technorati Tags: ,