Brits have hit out at the decision to ban more than a dozen popular cold and flu medicines over concerns they could trigger a deadly reaction.
Twenty products are being withdrawn, including some of those made by Day & Night Nurse and Covonia — as well as own-brand versions sold in Boots and Superdrug.
Patients who take remedies containing pholcodine within a year of being put under general anaesthetic are at an increased risk of suffering a ‘very rare’ life-threatening side effect, a review by the UK’s medicines regulator found.
But Brits have labelled the move a ‘ludicrous over-reaction‘ and urged regulators to let people ‘make their own decisions’.
Twenty cold and flu products are being withdrawn in the UK, including some of those made by Day & Night Nurse and Covonia — as well as own-brand versions sold in Boots
Ben Jephcott, from Shrewsbury, said that the decision to ban pholcodine, which he says is ‘safe and actually works’, is a ‘ludicrous over-reaction’
Another Twitter user, Sandy Karenso, said pholcodine is ‘absolutely the best cough remedy’. She urged health chiefs to ‘leave us alone’ and ‘let us make our own decisions’
Ben Jephcott, from Shrewsbury, said that the decision to ban pholcodine, which he says is ‘safe and actually works’, is a ‘ludicrous over-reaction’.
He called for a national ‘Save our Cough Mixture campaign’ in a bid to reverse the decision.
Another Twitter user, Sandy Karenso, said pholcodine is ‘absolutely the best cough remedy’. She urged health chiefs to ‘leave us alone’ and ‘let us make our own decisions’.
It comes after the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, yesterday confirmed that it is recalling any medicines that contain pholcodine as a precaution.
The opioid medicine, which has been used as a cough suppressant since the 1950s, works by suppressing cough reflexes by reducing the nerve signals sent from the brain to the muscles involved in coughing.
But the Commission on Human Medicine — an MHRA committee which advises on the safety of medicines — flagged concerns among patients who took the drug ahead of being put under general anaesthetic with neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs).
NMBAs are used in around half of general anaesthetics administered in the UK to relax the muscles before some operations. One use is when a patient needs to be intubated, with the NMBA paralysing or relaxing the jaw and the vocal cords.
Those who took pholcodine in the 12 months before being exposed to NMBAs were at increased risk of having a life-threatening allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis.
This causes a patient’s blood pressure to drop and their airways to narrow, blocking breathing. It can be life-threatening without immediate treatment.
The affected products, which include Day & Night Nurse Capsules, Boots Night Cough Relief Oral Solution and Superdrug Pholcodine Linctus, will no longer be available in pharmacies.
Brits taking tablets or syrups for a cough have been told to check the packaging, label or information leaflet to see if pholcodine is a listed ingredient.
If it is, they can talk to their pharmacists who can suggest a different medicine.
They have also been advised to tell an anaesthetist before surgery if they have taken a medicine containing pholcodine in the previous 12 months.
But despite the MHRA warning that the potential risk of taking medicines containing pholcodine outweighs the benefits, desperate Brits have scrambled in a bid to grab the few options still for sale.
Online pharmacies displayed ‘out of stock’ messages, while others including Boots, reported ‘stock coming soon’.
Patients took to social media to complain of issues getting hold of depleted stocks of medication.
One woman reacting to the news tweeted: ‘This is outrageous. I’ve had trouble getting Day Nurse and Night Nurse for months so it isn’t new.’
Meanwhile, another wrote: ‘Day and Night Nurse being withdrawn from the U.K. market is actually quite sad, it’s the only medicine that has been touching the sides with this never ending cold I currently have. It’s been so hard to get hold of recently too.’
Which medications are affected?
The Boots Company PLC
Boots Night Cough Relief Oral Solution PL 00014/0230
Boots Dry Cough Syrup 6 Years+ PL 00014/0523
Boots Day Cold & Flu Relief Oral Solution PL 00014/0565
Thornton & Ross Limited
Cofsed Linctus PL 00240/0097
Care Pholcodine 5mg/5ml Oral Solution Sugar Free PL 00240/0101
Galenphol Paediatric Linctus PL 00240/0102
Galenphol Strong Linctus, PL 00240/0103
Covonia Dry Cough Sugar Free Formula PL 00240/0353
Bell Sons & Company (Druggists) Limited
Pholcodine Linctus Bells Healthcare 5mg Per 5ml Oral Solution PL 03105/0059
Numark Pholcodine 5mg per 5ml Oral Solution PL 03105/0059
Well Pharmaceuticals Pholcodine 5mg per 5ml Oral Solution, PL 03105/0059
Superdrug Pholcodine Linctus BP PL 03105/0059
Strong Pholcodine Linctus BP PL 03105/0060
Pinewood Laboratories Limited
Pholcodine Linctus BP PL 04917/0002
Strong Pholcodine Linctus BP, PL 04917/0005
LCM Limited
Pholcodine Linctus PL 12965/0030
Glaxosmithkline Consumer Healthcare (UK) Trading Limited
Day & Night Nurse Capsules PL 44673/0068
Day Nurse Capsules PL 44673/0069
Day Nurse PL 44673/0075
