FDA Warns Consumers About Cold, Diet Drugs containing PPA Phenylpropanolamine

FDA officials estimated PPA might cause between 200 and 500 hemorrhagic strokes per year in patients age 18 to 49. U.S. Consumers bought about 6 billion doses of PPA last year.

Lawyers representing Victims believe this action is long overdue.

PPA Products include:

Robitussin CF Cough Syrup
Tavist D Cold, allergy and sinus tablets
Dexatrim Weight Control Candy and Tablets
Triaminic DM Cough Syrup
Acutrim Weight Control Candy and Tablets
Permathene Mega 16 Weight Control Tablets

U.S. health officials Monday November 6, 2000 urged consumers to stop taking decongestants and diet drugs that contain a key ingredient linked to cases of strokes, while regulators moved to take it off the market.

The ingredient, phenylpropanolamine (PPA), is found in dozens of over-the-counter products, including cold medicine Dimetapp and weight-loss drugs, such as Dexatrim and Acutrim. It works as a decongestant in cough and cold remedies and an appetite suppressant in diet drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it has asked all drug companies voluntarily to stop marketing products containing PPA. Makers would have the option to reformulate the products with other ingredients.

The agency also is writing a proposal that will make the sale of PPA products, both prescription and over-the-counter, illegal. That process is likely to take several months, it said.

One company, SmithKline Beecham (SB.L), said it was halting production and shipment of Contac 12-hour cold capsules, the only formulation of Contac that contains PPA. The company also said it had asked retailers to remove the product from their shelves.

Regulators determined that PPA seemed tied to "very rare" cases of bleeding strokes in adults under age 50, said

Research pointed to a higher risk of hemorrhagic strokes, or bleeding into the brain, for women, Ganley said, but the FDA cautioned that men also were at risk. The strokes occurred within three days after people took the products.

Other products that contain PPA include some versions of Alka-Seltzer Plus, Comtrex, Coricidin, Tavist-D and Triaminic.

If you have been injured by a PPA Product contact a lawyer here.