The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has denied reports in sections of the media that cough syrups cause more harm than good to children.
The Board said it has the responsibility to protect the health of the public by ensuring quality, safety, and efficacy of the medical products, hence such information would cause unnecessary alarm to the general public.
“The PPB would like to assure the public that there is no cause of alarm as cough and cold medicines are neither poisonous nor dangerous when taken as recommended,” Dr Kipkerich Koskei, the Board's registrar said in a statement.
Dr Koskei however said the medicines should not be used by children below two years, neither between two to six years, unless under prescription.
“The Board is advising parents and caregivers to always consult health care providers on use of cough and cold medicines in children under 6 years,” he said.
He assured that PPB will continue ensuring the safety and efficacy of all medicines sold in the country- including cough and cold medicines.
“The PPB shall continue to review the quality, safety and efficacy of all medicines in the Kenyan market including cough and cold medicines in liaison with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international regulatory authorities on matters related to safety, effectiveness and quality of medicines,” he said.
The Standard Newspaper on March 2, 2016 published an article on the effects of the syrups on children, entitled the ‘Poison in cough and cold syrups'