Tag: Methamphetamine epidemic

Since 2006, following federal regulations aimed at limiting methamphetamine production, oral phenylephrine has largely replaced pseudoephedrine as the standard decongestant in many over-the-counter (OTC) cold medicines. This shift, however, came at a significant cost to medication effectiveness.

In the early 2000s, manufacturers shifted from pseudoephedrine to phenylephrine in many over-the-counter cold remedies due to federal anti-methamphetamine regulations. This move ultimately sparked a major debate regarding the effectiveness of the drug that replaced pseudoephedrine.