In a long-sought move, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday formally began the process of abandoning oral doses of a common over-the-counter decongestant, which the agency concluded last year is not effective at relieving stuffy noses.

The US Food and Drug Administration announced a proposal to remove oral phenylephrine – a common ingredient in many popular over-the-counter decongestants – from the market, citing evidence that it doesn’t work.

The FDA says oral phenylephrine, used in many over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, "is not effective as a nasal decongestant."

The Food and Drug Administration says it wants to remove some of the most popular over-the-counter decongestants that have a common ingredient in them. The FDA said there’s evidence that phenylephrine doesn’t work.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to remove from the market a common ingredient found in most oral over-the-counter cold medicines because it doesn’t work. The move brings FDA one step closer to getting products containing oral phenylephrine pulled from stores.