COLD MEDICINES NOW BEHIND PHARMACY COUNTERS

Liza Casabona

There is a rising tide of national retailers pulling over-the-counter cold products containing pseudoephedrine (PSE) behind pharmacy counters chainwide.

Among retailers that have announced such a move are Albertsons, Boise, Idaho; Target, Minneapolis; Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark.; CVS/pharmacy, Woonsocket, R.I.; Walgreen, Deerfield, Ill.; Kmart, Troy, Mich.; Rite Aid, Camp Hill, Pa.; and Long's Drug Stores, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Meanwhile, the Food Marketing Institute, Washington, and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Alexandria, Va., have come out in favor of national legislation on PSE to avoid the hodge-podge of local and state laws springing up all over the country.

PSE, an otherwise safe decongestant found in OTC cold and allergy medicine, is a basic ingredient in the manufacture of the illegal drug methamphetamine. Theft and over-purchasing of PSE for use in clandestine methamphetamine labs have caused federal and state legislators to increasingly focused on policies to control retail sales of PSE-containing products.

Albertsons announced it will pull solid OTC cold and allergy products containing PSE behind pharmacy counters in all its stores over the next few months. The company operates 2,000 pharmacies nationwide. Albertsons imposed a three- package sales limit on purchases of PSE products a few years ago, and that policy will remain in place alongside the new one, said Karen Ramos, spokeswoman for the chain.

"We were hoping that measure in itself would alleviate some of what we were seeing. It hasn't, so we've taken this additional step."

In Albertsons stores where there is no pharmacy, only gel cap and liquid forms of PSE products will be available. The chain also carries products containing phenylephrine, an alternative decongestant.

"[Wal-Mart] will continue to move the most commonly abused products that contain pseudoephedrine behind the pharmacy counter in all stores by early June. This action has already been taken in about 60% of our stores," said Jacquie Young, spokeswoman, Wal-Mart.

The majority of retail policies announced last month specifically move single-ingredient, solid dose PSE products behind pharmacy counters in the next few months. Some retailers, like Wal-Mart and Rite Aid said combination products containing PSE also will be pulled behind counters eventually. Target, the first retailer to announce its policy, said it will pull all PSE products in the next two to three months.

While initially the move made by Target surprised observers, it makes sense in light of the legislative trend, said Mary Ann Wagner, vice president of pharmacy regulatory affairs, NACDS.

"It's understandable why a chain would make a decision to do this," she said. "It's a logical conclusion to have [a policy] done one way in all your stores across the country."

Other national chains either did not respond to requests for comment.