Some pharmacies lock up sinus drugs

MELVILLE, N.Y. -- Don't be surprised if buying over-the-counter medication for your sinus headache is now, well, a pain.

As of April 8, a federal law limits the sale of such over-the-counter cough and sinus products as Sudafed and Claritin D with pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine. These ingredients can be used to make the toxic and addictive drug methamphetamine.

But some pharmacists have begun instituting a second part of the law, which says that as of Sept. 30, they must keep the products locked up or behind the counter. Anyone purchasing them also will be required to provide photo identification and sign a logbook.

Bruce Scheinson, who co-owns a pharmacy, said he has placed the products behind the counter in advance of the Sept. 30 deadline. But he is angry about the law. In fact, he said, once the products are gone, he will sell them no more.

Those who have already confronted the new system apparently are not thrilled. On April 8, CVS Corp. of Woonsocket, R.I., required its pharmacies to institute every aspect of the law, placing the medicines behind the counter and requiring customers to show ID and sign a log.

But CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis said the chain decided to keep the products behind the counter, yet discontinue checking IDs and requiring customers to sign a logbook.

The reason? ''Customer feedback," DeAngelis said. Customers, especially in the Northeast, need to be educated about the change, he said. Moreover, he said, he expected that by September many of the medicines with the restricted ingredients, which number in the hundreds, will have been reformulated. Pfizer, maker of Sudafed, has already come out with a Sudafed that contains no pseudoephedrine.