Nonprescription Drugs

C.B. Fleet Co., a closely held maker of laxative products, said Thursday that it was voluntarily withdrawing its oral, over-the-counter bowel cleansing solutions after U.S. health regulators warned that such drugs may harm the kidneys. C.B. Fleet said it would recall its Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Phospho-soda EZ-Prep Bowel Cleansing System used to clear the bowels before a colonoscopy.

At least 2.2 million older adults in the U.S. take medicine in combinations that could trigger dangerous drug interactions, causing gastrointestinal bleeding, muscle breakdown, disruption in heart rhythm and other serious problems, according to a study by researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Half of the interactions involved over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin or dietary supplements. Overall, 1 in 25 older adults risked serious drug interactions, the study found.

Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that it was considering an over-the-counter form of its Viagra anti-impotence drug as it faces tough competition from Eli Lilly & Co.'s longer-acting Cialis treatment. "As with many of our products, Pfizer has routinely evaluated a number of options [for Viagra], including different formulations, new indications, over-the-counter, etc., and continues to do so," Pfizer said.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first diet drug to be sold without a prescription. The drug is a lower-dose version of the prescription medicine Xenical and will become available to consumers this summer under the name alli. The pill will be marketed to people over 18 and will compete against nutritional supplements, which do not require FDA approval and the rigorous safety and efficacy testing that entails.

At 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 12 boxes of alli, the first FDA-sanctioned diet drug to be sold without a prescription, were placed on the top shelf of a Santa Monica Walgreens' diet section. Four hours later, all but one had been sold. "I have never in my life experienced anything like this," store manager Roe Love, a pharmacist for 20 years, said as she eyed the empty space next to the last box of 90 capsules selling for $59.99.

To hard-driving athletes and weekend warriors, the mentholated fumes and the hurts-so-good burn of sports creams and adhesive pads seem a harmless balm for overworked muscles. But for a teenage athlete in New York, the pain-relieving gels, patches and ointments proved in April to be deadly poison. Earlier this month, the New York City medical examiner concluded that 17-year-old Arielle Newman effectively died of an overdose of muscle-soothing balms.

Physicians may be losing their lock on Americans' medicine cabinets. For years, consumers have had two options at the drugstore. They could either show up with a doctor's prescription or settle for less powerful medications sold over the counter. Now the Food and Drug Administration is considering creating a different option, a class of medicines dubbed behind-the-counter drugs.

CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid and other drugstores Thursday stopped selling over-the-counter cough and cold medications for children under age 2 after manufacturers asked them to pull the products because of safety concerns. The products are not tainted or defective, and drug makers said there was nothing wrong with the medications when used as directed.

Pediatricians urged U.S. regulators to restrict over-the-counter cold medicines for children, saying the remedies used for decades don't work and may be dangerous. Members of the American Academy of Pediatricians asked a panel of Food and Drug Administration advisors Thursday to recommend that the agency ban marketing cold medicines for children younger than 6.