By Mike Bain -The Daily Examiner.

Have you ever felt that cold and flu meds you’ve been taking for years don’t really help? Well, it turns out you might not be alone.

A major lawsuit has just been filed, accusing Johnson & Johnson of misleading Kiwis for about two decades with the ingredient phenylephrine in their cold and flu medicines. Despite being marketed as a nasal decongestant, it appears that this ingredient might be completely ineffective when taken orally.

This lawsuit follows growing evidence from the US FDA, which is considering an outright ban on the ingredient for oral use. The FDA believes that these medications, when taken orally, simply don’t work.

Back when pseudoephedrine was banned from sale between 2011 and 2024 due to concerns over its use in making illicit drugs, phenylephrine was marketed as a substitute. Now, it seems that this substitute might not have been up to the job.

Law firm JGA Saddler is calling on potentially millions of New Zealanders who have bought these products to join the class action. Director Rebecca

Jancauskas says it could be one of the biggest in New Zealand’s history.

“Customers should be able to confidently buy medicines that work as advertised, and when they don’t, the company involved should be held accountable,” Jancauskas said.

She explains that Johnson & Johnson has relied on outdated studies to market a medication that doesn’t work as promised, misleading the New Zealand public for years.

“New Zealanders have trusted these products to work as advertised and wouldn’t have bought them if they knew they were ineffective at treating congestion,” Jancauskas continued. “Johnson & Johnson has misled the public, and they need to be held accountable for their actions. We are asking all New Zealanders who have purchased any of the 17 affected products to register to be a part of the class action.”

This isn’t the first time JGA Saddler has taken on Johnson & Johnson; they’ve launched a similar class action in Australia

Brisbane ear, nose, and throat specialist Dr Jo-Lyn McKenzie said, “The data around phenylephrine is that it’s not effective when it’s taken orally”.

McKenzie said phenylephrine was an effective decongestant when used as a nasal spray.

“It’s incredibly effective when it’s applied inside the nose,” she said.

Dr Mckenzie said the problem with phenylephrine was that it was inactivated when swallowed and didn’t have enough clinical effect.

She said the substance began to be used in cold and flu medication after regulations were introduced to make it harder to buy pseudoephedrine.

In 2006, pseudoephedrine was taken off the shelves and put behind the counter at pharmacies, because it was being used to produce methamphetamine and sold as the drug ice.

When the sale of tablets containing pseudoephedrine was restricted, Johnson & Johnson replaced the ingredient with phenylephrine so they could continue selling the products at pharmacies, supermarkets and petrol stations.

McKenzie said the result was people looking for relief from congestion were choosing ineffective products when better products were available.

“They use that treatment as an alternative to medications that do work,” she said.

Johnson and Johnson have made no comment.

Here are the products named in the suit:
– Sudafed PE Nasal Decongestant Tablet
– Sudafed PE Sinus + Pain Relief Day & Night Tablet
– Sudafed PE Sinus + Pain Relief Tablet
– Sudafed PE Sinus + Allergy & Pain Relief
– Sudafed PE Sinus + Anti-inflammatory Pain Relief Tablet
– Codral Cold & Flu + Mucus Cough Capsule
– Codral Decongestant Tablet
– Codral Day & Night Tablet
– Codral Cold & Flu Tablet
– Codral Night Tablet
– Codral Mucus Cough + Cold Liquid
– Codral Cold & Flu + Mucus Cough Powder
– Codral Cold & Flu Powder
– Benadryl PE Chesty Cough & Nasal Congestion Syrup
– Codral Cold & Flu Sore Throat Tablet
– Day & Night Cold & Flu + Cough Combination Tablet
– Benadryl Mucus Relief Plus Decongestant Liquid