To anyone in Australia, apparently you can still get pseudoephedrine over the counter. You just need to explicitly ask for it (brand name is Codral Original) and provide ID so that the chemist can register the sale.
Expect a visit from the AFP if you start hoarding boxes. :)
This is something literally anyone who was forced into the penylephrine based allergy could tell you. Meanwhile banning an effective drug did nothing to lower meth production.
Is "Sudafed PE" different than normal Sudafed? I typically take the latter when I have a cold. If it's a placebo, it's a darn effective one!
Edit: Oh I see, my box of Sudafed has a different active ingredient, "pseudoephedrine".
Did big phenylephrine's check not clear this year? Why did the FDA approve it previously if it didn't work?
> These products generated nearly $1.8 billion in sales last year alone
A real mystery.
that said, my doctor has told me the pseudoephedrine hcl it replaced doesn't really help your cold or allergy, maybe just your symptoms. I don't know the truth/reality of the matter.
Grammar.
The ever-excellent Derek Lowe has a deep dive on this from a year ago:
"The Uselessness of Phenylephrine"
https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/uselessness-phenyl...