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Dr. Kim Mulvihill ReportingGot a stuffy nose, a cold or sinus trouble? Well, getting relief is about to get more involved.
Some national chains have already moved the drug pseudoephedrine "behind" the counter. Starting tomorrow it happens nationwide, and with even tighter control.
Anything and everything with pseudoephedrine is now falling under federal scrutiny, and you will need more than money to get them.
Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant, but it can be cooked with household products into methamphetamine -- a highly addictive illegal stimulant. The new rules put a limit on how much pseudoephedrine you can buy on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Customers' names and addresses will be kept on file for two years and can be read by federal agents. Also, be sure to have photo ID to prove it's you.
To provide over-the-counter products, companies are adding new lines of decongestants that use phenylephrine instead of pseudoephedrine, But it may not pack the same punch. Phenylephrine has a shorter half-life, meaning that the effects will not last as long as the pseudoephedrine. So if you want the stronger stuff, you'll have to be checked out before you can check out at the pharmacy.
