A UK-based GP has urged people not to waste their money on cough syrups—branding them one of the ‘biggest health scams out there’.
This is because ‘there’s no evidence they improve or get rid of a cough,’ Dr Asif Ahmed, a GP, told his 362,000 followers on TikTok in a recent video.
Instead of spending your hard earned cash on them, he advised taking a more natural approach.
He said: ‘The best thing for a cough is just honey and lemon with some warm water.’
The video received hundreds of comments from social media users who reacted to his warning.
In one comment, a social media user said: ‘I was allergic to a cough syrup, came out in hives. Dr told me to stick to warm water and honey and couple [of] paracetamol.’
Another wrote: ‘Cough syrups don’t get rid of a cough but do work for soothing it.’
According to the National Health Service (NHS), while cough syrups can help you cough less, ‘they will not stop your cough’.
They similarly recommend hot lemon and honey, but add that it is not suitable for babies under the age of one.
They also recommend the herbal medicine pelargonium—which is available at Boots or Holland and Barret stores—but it isn’t suitable for children under the age of 12.
If you’re suffering from pain, they recommended taking the painkillers paracetamol or ibuprofen.
However, not all medicines and herbal treatments are appropriate for everyone, particularly people with existing medical conditions or pregnant, so you should always check the leaflet.
If you feel very unwell, have chest pain, the side of your neck feels swollen and painful, you’re coughing up blood, or finding it hard to breath you should call 111.
However, if you are experiencing severe difficulty breathing you should call 999 or immediately or go to A&E.
Scientific studies have found there is no strong evidence for the effectiveness of cough medicines in children or adults.
Last year, cough syrups containing codeine became restricted in Britain over fears people were getting addicted to the powerful drug.
Now all codeine linctus products, which were previously available over-the-counter for as little as £13, are prescription only.
These are the five cough syrups that the health watchdog previously made prescription-only
The restriction came as drug watchdogs were concerned about rising cases of serious, and sometimes fatal, side effects of abusing the elixirs.
Health chiefs were also worried that the drug was being used recreationally for its powerful opioid effects in ‘Purple Drank’—a mixture containing codeine and soda.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, said it was aware of pressure being put on pharmacists to sell codeine to addicts.
Codeine is an opioid—a class of painkillers in the same family as morphine, heroin and fentanyl.
And like with other opioids, people can become addicted.
Codeine linctus is recommended to ease the symptoms of a dry cough in adults and children over the age of 12 with no breathing difficulties.
The MHRA said the move only affected five products: Codeine Linctus BP, Bell’s healthcare codeine linctus, Care codeine, Galcodine Linctus, Pulmo Bailly.
Other over-the-counter codeine products, such as tablets containing the painkiller, were not be affected.
Their move to make them prescription-only came after the watchdog carried out a consultation with 1,000 responses.
They also received three case reports describing addiction specifically to codeine linctus.
Their decision was welcomed by pharmacy bodies who revealed pharmacists ‘often experience[d] aggression from patients’ when refusing supply to the medicine.
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