For more than a century anxious parents smeared Vicks VapoRub under the stuffy noses of their children. The pungent blend of menthol, camphor and eucalyptus was considered a breakthrough during the 1918 influenza pandemic and it’s been selling ever since.
Now it turns out Vicks Vapo Rub may do more harm than good. A recent study of the ointment on ferrets showed respiratory irritation, which may apply to humans too. More work is needed to determine if Vick’s VapoRub should be pulled from the market, but for now, look for no changes in the marketing or sale of the product.
It’s just the latest of many items proven questionable or useless, but still selling. I think the companies hope consumers aren’t watching the news.
Chondroiton and glucosamine are sold in supplement form to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis. But now, evidence that this combination of cow cartilage and shellfish shells offers no more pain relief than placebo is mounting. The pricey product Osteo-Biflex used to advertise chondroiton and glucosamine as it’s pain fighters. Now you see 5-Loxin, whatever that is. What happened to the chondroiton and glucosamine? You may not see it on the label of Osteo Biflex anymore, but you’ll have no problem finding it in many other vitamin products in the drug store.
Then there’s cough syrup. Researchers at Pennsylvannia State University learned in a 2004 study that over-the-counter cough syrup is no more effective than placebo, and less effective than regular honey out of a jar. Yet products with dextromethorphan and diphenhydramine are still selling, and worried parents who grew up with these products keep buying them for their kids. Nowhere in the store is there any information revealing the cough syrup does nothing to stop a cough.
The Food and Drug administration recalls products that are truly harmful to the public and Vicks may someday be on that list, but at this point there is nothing to protect the consumer from products that do nothing.
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