The US Food and Drug Administration has proposed to remove oral phenylephrine, widely used in cold and cough syrups, as an active ingredient in over-the-counter drugs for nasal congestion, stating it is not effective,

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that it is proposing a new rule to stop the use of an ingredient in popular over-the-counter cold and allergy medications.

More than a year after its advisory panel unanimously declared the drug phenylephrine to be useless against nasal congestion, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing that it be removed from common over-the-counter decongestants.