An October 11, 2007 media advisory from Health Canada raised concerns regarding the safety of “over-the-counter” (non-prescription) cough and cold products in children. An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration called for all over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold medicines to be banned. Pharmaceutical companies have issued a voluntary recall of these products in Canada and the US in response to the findings of the panel.

The Canadian Pediatric Society concurs with the recall and the rationale behind the advisory panel’s decision.

• Dr. Michael Rieder, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FAAP, FRCP, Head of Pediatric Pharmacology, Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario, Chairperson of Pediatric Pharmacology at the Schulich School of Medicine and spokesperson for the Canadian Paediatric Society Drug Therapy Committee and Bio Therapeutics Research Group at Robarts Research Institute