The ACLU says it found out Walgreens stores in Texas and Mississippi refused to sell emergency contraceptives to men, then pressured the pharmacy to order those locations to fall in line with corporate policy and let the men have their morning-after pills. [More]
over the counter
Strips Are Best Teeth Whiteners, Consumer Reports Finds
By 7.22.09
A Consumer Reports Insights story in the Washington Post evaluates the DIY teeth-whitening racket, finding strips work better than trays, which don’t always fit in your mouth so well, the products may mess with your sensitive teeth, and that yellow teeth whiten easier than gray, brown or blue.
FDA Considers Banning OTC Cough Medicines For All Children Under 6
By 10.2.08
Pediatricians are asking the FDA to recall all OTC cough medicines for children under six years old, and the FDA is holding a public hearing on the subject today. One reason this has only recently become an issue is that when the FDA originally set rules for OTC cough medicines, they were based only on studies for adults, not kids, writes the Associated Press. Although there’s a low risk of unintentional overdose—the AP says about 7,000 children are admitted to ERs each year—the other issue is that there’s very little evidence that they’re effective.
