Video Production: Warning - Cough and Cold Medicine for Children

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Transcript: Warning - Cough and Cold Medicine for Children

Health Canada Advisory

Narrator: Runny noses, nasty aches and pains. It's cold season again.

Dr. Marc Berthiaume - Director of Marketed Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau - Health Canada: "Hi, I'm Dr. Marc Berthiaume with some important information from Health Canada about over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children.

After carefully assessing the use of these medicines, Health Canada has decided they should not be labelled for use in children under the age of 6.

That includes orally taken, over-the-counter cough and cold products that contain certain:

• Anti-histamines to treat sneezing and runny nose;
• anti-cough medications called anti-tussives:
• expectorants that loosen mucus; and
• decongestants.

A complete list of ingredients is available on the Health Canada Web site.
Labels of these medicines will be updated to reflect the changes.

The relabelling of these medicines will not be completed until fall 2009. You may still find products on store shelves and in your homes with directions for use in children under 6, as well as older children and adults. Despite what the current labelling says, parents and caregivers should consult a pharmacist or other health care practitioner for this cough and cold season when buying or using these medicines. They are only to be used in children over 6 years old."

Narrator: More information is available on the Health Canada website: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/coughandcold, or call our toll-free hotline at 1-866-558-2946

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