CVS to pull certain cold medicines containing decongestant phenylephrine from store shelves

[usonian]

1. phenylephrine is completely useless.

Its nicknamed PE.

If it were a sugar pill, it could at least sweeten your coffee.

Ask the pharmacist for something else. Pseudoephedrine is controlled and you have to show ID.

As for mixtures containing a decongestant, ask the pharmacist or MD.

As for Pseudoephedrine ( aka Sudafed)
Wikipedia says;

Pseudoephedrine is indicated for the treatment of nasal congestion, sinus congestion, and Eustachian tube congestion.[10] Pseudoephedrine is also indicated for vasomotor rhinitis, and as an adjunct to other agents in the optimum treatment of allergic rhinitis, croup, sinusitis, otitis media, and tracheobronchitis.[10]

Here's why it's controlled ( behind the counter only)
Manufacture of amphetamines

Its membership in the amphetamine class has made pseudoephedrine a sought-after chemical precursor in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine and methcathinone. As a result of the increasing regulatory restrictions on the sale and distribution of pseudoephedrine, pharmaceutical firms have reformulated medications to use alternative compounds, particularly phenylephrine, even though its efficacy as a decongestant has been demonstrated to be indistinguishable from placebo.[22]

In the United States, federal laws control the sale of pseudoephedrine-containing products.[23][24][25] Retailers in the US have created corporate policies restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine-containing products.[26][27] Their policies restrict sales by limiting purchase quantities and requiring a minimum age and government issued photographic identification.[24][25] These requirements are similar to and sometimes more stringent than existing law.

References here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoephedrine