ATLANTA, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A U.S. government report said a high number of emergency room visits by children under 5 years old are linked to the ingestion of cough and cold medicine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its first estimate on the health effects of common cold and cough medicines suggested children sent to emergency rooms for problems associated with the medicines took the remedies on their own, The Washington Post said Tuesday.
Opponents of the report said the issue suggests parental monitoring plays a role in the accidental ingestions but supporters said the report showed "it's time to pull the plug on the marketing of these products."
The CDC reported at least 1,500 children 2 years and younger had complications from the medication and the Food and Drug Administration said the ingestions resulted in at least 123 deaths in 2003-04.
The FDA officially advised against using cough and cold medicines in children younger than 2 and the pharmaceutical industry voluntarily took medicines targeted from those children off the shelves in 2007.
The report comes as FDA officials examine further restrictions on the products as the health agency said evidence suggests cough and cold medicines are ineffective on children younger than 6 years old.
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