How Good are Over-the-Counter Drugs?

Every year about this time, I catch, what my wife euphemistically calls, a "Summer Cold." The Contac and Coricidin stocking our medicine cabinet at these times make it look like we're opening a corner drugstore.

But just how good are these counter drugs, anyway?

An article in the recent June issue of Science 83 makes me wonder. The magazine pulled no punches and named names. The best slam was made at Anacin, which is advertised as containing the "pain reliever that doctors recommend most." The pain reliever turns out to be aspirin which costs less than half as much in its generic form. The only other ingredient is caffeine, and the FDA is still debating whether or not it has anything to do with pain relief at all.

Another of the interesting items on which the magazine reported was NyQuil. This thing has a list of unpronounceable ingredients until you get to the phrase: "Alcohol, 25%." Now, if that won't help you get to sleep, what else will?

In any case, the main point that the Science 83 article makes is that some over-the-counter drugs are often ineffective, and act largely as only a placebo.