China bans toxic cold medicines

The National Medical Products Administration on Friday announced an immediate ban of the production, marketing and use of composite terfenadine tablets and tropicana capsules in China.

All those products should be recalled and destroyed under the supervision of local drug product management authorities before December 31, said an official document the administration issued on Friday.

The side effects, such as adverse cardiac toxicity, brought by the use of the two drugs outweigh the original benefits to cure colds, according to the administration.

The approval documents for the production, marketing and use of the drugs have been revoked.

Companies manufacturing the two medical products are Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Co. in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province, according to the administration information.