Chinese Cold Medicine Oral Preparations Drug Instructions Will Be Revised: Take while under medication, do not drive planes, cars, or boats, do not engage in high-altitude operations, mechanical operations, or operate precision instruments, etc. The medicine has been officially on the market for sale since 1987.
According to a report from the “Daily Economic News” on July 28, the Chinese State Drug Administration issued a notice stating that based on the evaluation of adverse drug reactions, it has decided to implement a unified revision of the instructions for the Chinese Cold Medicine oral preparations (granules, capsules, tablets, tea). The revised medication instructions will clearly state the warnings after taking the medication, and stipulate that by October 15, 2026, companies must file with the provincial drug supervision and management department. Within 9 months after filing, companies must replace the instructions and labels of drugs already on the market, or inform patients of the updated information in other appropriate forms.
Public information shows that Chinese Cold Medicine is a typical compound preparation of Chinese and Western medicines, mainly used for antipyretic and analgesic purposes, for headache, fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat caused by cold. It contains three Western medicine components: Paracetamol, Chlorpheniramine Maleate, and Caffeine.
Huang Xiuxiang, former secretary-general of the Hunan Province Pharmaceutical Circulation Industry Association, revealed that Chlorpheniramine Maleate has a central inhibitory effect, easily causing drowsiness, fatigue, and decreased attention, but it is not a controlled psychotropic drug or narcotic drug by the government. Therefore, simply taking Chinese Cold Medicine currently does not directly constitute illegal driving behavior related to this point.
The report mentions that some of the head Chinese Cold Medicine production companies have stated that they are not accepting interviews for the time being regarding the impacts caused by this modification. However, a manager of a certain chain pharmacy told reporters that the revision of the Chinese State Drug Administration’s Chinese Cold Medicine instructions this time will not have a significant impact on the sales of terminal cold medicines.
Public information shows that Chinese Cold Medicine is mainly used to alleviate cold symptoms. It was officially launched in 1987 and has gradually become one of the earlier cold compound preparations introduced in China, becoming a common family medicine. The retail price of Chinese Cold Medicine generally ranges from 15 to 25 Chinese Yuan. Due to its affordable price, in 2025, the sales of Chinese Cold Medicine granules in the retail pharmacy terminal respiratory system over-the-counter market in China exceeded 2 billion Chinese Yuan.
Regarding this, some netizens jokingly commented: “It turns out that the risk has been around us for decades, where was the government all this time.”