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 U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed to remove oral phenylephrine, widely used in cold and cough syrups, as an active ingredient in over-the-counter drugs for nasal congestion, stating it is not effective,

Products that include phenylephrine as an active ingredient include Sudafed PE, Vicks Sinex and Benadryl Allergy Plus Congestion. In fact, "it is important to note that some products only contain oral phenylephrine as a single,

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.