Poll Looks at Pseudoephedrine Debate

A consumer survey, commissionedby the National Consumers Leagueand the Food Marketing Institute,explored putting OTC products withpseudoephedrine behind the counter.Although consumers said that they arewilling to tolerate restrictions on buyingpseudoephedrine products, manydo not want OTC products with thatingredient to be available only at pharmacies.

The survey indicated that 62% ofthe respondents believed that keepingpseudoephedrine products in lockeddisplay cases was "somewhat reasonable"or "very reasonable." Yet, 44%said that restricting sales of the coldmedicine ingredient to pharmacieswould create a burden. Of the totalrespondents, 71% supported puttingsuch cough, cold, and allergy productsbehind "a counter, not a pharmacycounter." Restricting the quantity ofsuch products that individuals canpurchase was favored by 84%, andputting an age limit on the buyers wassupported by 74%.