OTC Meds Will Get Child-Resistant Packaging

The move comes after a government-funded study was published today in

Pediatrics that found 66 percent of emergency room visits related to cough and cold meds in kids are due to unsupervised ingestion. And 80 percent of those ER visits are among preschoolers. So the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a trade group for OTC drugmakers, issued a statement today saying its members will voluntarily add child-resistant packaging even when not required to do so.

The CDC study recommended introducing engineering innovations such as incorporating adaptors onto bottles of liquid medication so it can be accessed only with a needle-less syringe, and expanding the use of child-resistant unit-dose packaging, according to The Tan Sheet.

The researchers say pulling all OTC cough and cold meds for kids most likely wouldn't eliminate unsafe use, the newsletter ads. The resesarchers cited a national survey showing that after a recall of products for children under 2 years old, 64 percent of parents still considered the meds very safe or somewhat safe and 20 percent planned to continue to usage for their children under 2. Child-resistant packaging resulted in an estimated 45 percent reduction in mortality in children from medication ingestions, The Tan Sheet points out.