Live data from Hacker News

CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

arstechnica.com

41–50 of 275 posts

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#41
post #3

But they leave the homeopathic junk mixed in as if it was actual medicine.

Homeopathic stuff is placebo, that's what it is. And placebos work very well. Who cares if they are not medicines? Sometimes all you need a placebo.

You should not discount just how effective placebos actually are!

Although I do recognize the potential for fraud here - they disclaimers they put on there should be more prominent.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#42
post #9
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

as if it's only a problem in Missouri. what ever gripe you have is totally useless here.

Missouri was the meth capital of the United States and pioneered the laws restricting sales. Meth labs were never run off buying 2-3 boxes at a time - before the restrictions you could buy the pills by the thousands from compounding pharmacies. As much as I “appreciate” your downvote, my quality of life has been directly impacted by the sales restrictions. The only way I can buy enough to maintain the dose I need involves straw man purchases far more expensive than they used to be. Accordingly, I moved on to other medications which are not as effective.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#43
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's already easy to buy the stuff that works. You just have to go up to the counter and ask. You have to show ID, just like you do for liquor (and, because purchases of psuedoephedrine are rate-limited, they're going to log your purchase). You'll need to get over that, because I don't think the rate limit is going anywhere: psuedoephedrine essentially is methamphetamine, and it's the worst conceivable kind: the kind…

I think he might have meant this : "Codeine is a widely used analgesic, that is available for sale in pharmacies over the counter (OTC) in a number of countries including the UK, South Africa, Ireland, France and Australia." [0] [0] https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25048/#:~:text=Codeine%20is%2... .

Codeine treats coughs.

Sudafed treats sinus congestion.

Different drugs with different uses.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#44
post #18

And this means we're going to have an easier time buying the stuff that works...right? ...right?

It's already easy to buy the stuff that works. You just have to go up to the counter and ask. You have to show ID, just like you do for liquor (and, because purchases of psuedoephedrine are rate-limited, they're going to log your purchase). You'll need to get over that, because I don't think the rate limit is going anywhere: psuedoephedrine essentially is methamphetamine, and it's the worst conceivable kind: the kind…

Yeah, Oregon still requires a prescription for pseudoephedrine. And it's infuriating.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#45
post #3

But they leave the homeopathic junk mixed in as if it was actual medicine.

[flagged]

I am not sure why the downvote. It keeps hypochondriac people away from the medical system by giving them essentially placebos. Everyone is happy.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#46

Wishful thinking, but next up should be homeopathic snake-oil. No company should have a homeopathic product sitting on the shelf next to an actual medicine.

I was at a Walgreens years ago and there was a rack of impulse-buy items at the checkout counter. One of them was a homeopathic cold "remedy." I had the same thought as you -- Walgreens is hurting their reputation as a trustworthy pharmacy, but then I realized that behind the counter was a wall of cigarettes. That resolved the tension for me: if they are willing to sell cancer causing agents, selling homeopathic meds…

[dead]

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#47

Wishful thinking, but next up should be homeopathic snake-oil. No company should have a homeopathic product sitting on the shelf next to an actual medicine.

> Wishful thinking, but next up should be homeopathic snake-oil. It sounds like it's serving a useful purpose. > "I know so many people… hell, I've done this myself, I've bought [a homeopathic] product by mistake," Little said. In a trip to the drug store while sick or as a weary parent of a miserably ill child, it's easy to mistakenly pick up a homeopathic product in haste or the fog of infection. If folks are going…

We should give kids aspirin just like we used to and stop believing a ridiculous paper that claims that it causes some kind of rare disease.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#48

Wishful thinking, but next up should be homeopathic snake-oil. No company should have a homeopathic product sitting on the shelf next to an actual medicine.

> Wishful thinking, but next up should be homeopathic snake-oil. It sounds like it's serving a useful purpose. > "I know so many people… hell, I've done this myself, I've bought [a homeopathic] product by mistake," Little said. In a trip to the drug store while sick or as a weary parent of a miserably ill child, it's easy to mistakenly pick up a homeopathic product in haste or the fog of infection. If folks are going…

If you're assuming that the homeopathic stuff is incapable of harming anyone, you're mistaken. https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/08/fda-warns-amazon-to-s...

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#50
post #18

And this means we're going to have an easier time buying the stuff that works...right? ...right?

It's already easy to buy the stuff that works. You just have to go up to the counter and ask. You have to show ID, just like you do for liquor (and, because purchases of psuedoephedrine are rate-limited, they're going to log your purchase). You'll need to get over that, because I don't think the rate limit is going anywhere: psuedoephedrine essentially is methamphetamine, and it's the worst conceivable kind: the kind…

It's already easy to buy this thing. Show your papers.
Post reply on HN