Popularity of Cough Medicine

But why would these medicines be so popular if there’s no proof that they work? Edelman says it’s simple. “People like them,” he tells WebMD.

• Coughs are the reason for more than 30 million doctor visits every year.
• By some estimates, coughs are the most common medical symptom.

When we’re sick with a cough -- or worse, when our children are sick -- we’re desperate to do something, anything, to relieve it. Knowing that there’s a medicine we can take makes us feel better and more in control.

“It’s really nice to be able to go down a pharmacy aisle and pick up a medicine that says it’s going to help,” Edelman says.

Cough medicines may also seem like they work even if they aren’t. “Most coughs caused by a viral infection get better on their own within a few days,” says Heffner. “But since so many people take cough medicines, they credit the drug for resolving the symptoms.”

Still, you might assume that the government would prevent the sale of medicines that don’t do what they claim to do. But it’s not quite so simple.

“Many of these cough medicines have a long tradition of use behind them,” says Heffner. “If they were being submitted to the FDA for approval today, the evidence might not be good enough to get them approved.” But since they were approved long ago, they are likely to stay that way.