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OTC cough and cold medicines for children are safe and effective when usedas directed. As part of the industry's overall commitment to educate parentsand caregivers about responsibly using these medicines and to ensure that theyhave appropriate treatment choices for their children, CHPA has announced thatmanufacturers will voluntarily re-label certain oral OTC cough and coldproducts with new pediatric dosing directions to indicate that these medicinesshould not be taken by children under the age of four. Products with thesenew directions will be introduced throughout the 2008-09 cough and coldseason.
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CVS/pharmacy is working closely with its suppliers to ensure that theseOTC medicines will be available in its stores with new pediatric dosingdirections as quickly as possible. In the meantime, CVS will continue to keepthe current versions of the 130 products it offers available for customers whorely on these medicines to treat their families' cold and allergy symptoms.
"The health and safety of our customers is our highest priority and wesupport CHPA's voluntary action," said Michael Bloom, Senior Vice President ofMerchandising at CVS/pharmacy. "As pediatric cough and cold medicines havebeen declared safe and effective by the FDA, it is also important that ourcustomers have access to these products during cough and cold season while oursuppliers transition to labels with new pediatric dosing directions."
CVS/pharmacy will replace all affected items with the new versions as there-labeled products become available. CVS will inform customers of the FDA'srecommendations and pending product label changes with prominent in-storesignage in the cough and cold section. Customers are also encouraged to speakwith their CVS pharmacist about potential treatment options for cold andallergy symptoms in children under age four.
For more information about safe dosing and the voluntary re-labeling ofthese products, please visit www.OTCsafety.org.
About CVS/pharmacy
CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS),is America's leading retail pharmacy with more than 6,300 retail locations.CVS/pharmacy is committed to improving the lives of those we serve by makinginnovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable andeasy to access, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General informationabout CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark is available at www.cvscaremark.com.
SOURCE CVS Caremark
