Children's cough medicines banned

Pharmacists told to stop selling certain cough medicines for young children as a precautionary measure

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PHARMARCISTS in France have been ordered to stop selling 20 different types of cough medicine for children over safety fears.

Health safety body Afssaps said it was taking the precautionary measure following about 70 reported cases of side-effects among babies of less than a year old.

The group said that, in some cases, the non-prescription medicines could increase the mucus in a child's lungs instead of clearing it.

The affected products include Carbocisteine, which is sold under a number of different brands including Rhinathiol. PDF: See the full list here

Pharmacies have been given an information sheet to distribute to parents explaining why the products have been temporarily withdrawn.

Afssaps said it would be carrying out more research and would decide whether to keep the ban in place by the end of June.

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