The backlash against nasal zinc spreads...
Cold-Eeze users allege harm to nose
Nine sue Quigley of Doylestown. They say they lost sense of smell.
By Hal Marcovitz
Of The Morning Call
mcall.com
Nine users of the cold remedy Cold-Eeze sued its Doylestown manufacturer Thursday, alleging that the nasal spray version of the product caused them to permanently lose their sense of smell.
The suit was filed in Bucks County Court against Quigley Corp. by the plaintiffs, who live in California, Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington, New York and Minnesota.
The suit does not seek specific monetary damages but demands compensation for medical costs as well as past and future pain, mental suffering and emotional distress.
A Quigley spokesman said the company would have no comment on the suit. Attorneys for the plaintiffs were unavailable for comment.
Quigley made national headlines in 1996 when it brought out the lozenge version of the product, which employed zinc gluconate as an active ingredient.
The company cited a study by the Cleveland Clinic that showed the product is effective in reducing the duration of cold symptoms by 42 percent.
According to the suit, the nasal spray version of Cold-Eeze, which also contains zinc gluconate, went on the market in 2003. The suit cites clinical studies dating to 1937 that showed 'zinc is toxic to the olfactory epithelium, the membrane essential for smell located about 7 centimeters up and into the human nose from the nostrils.'
Each of the plaintiffs alleges that they purchased the spray version of Cold-Eeze and used it to treat cold symptoms.
For example, the suit says Nicholas C. Edwards 'purchased Cold-Eeze at a local retailer in Virginia to treat the symptoms of a cold. Plaintiff Edwards used Cold-Eeze in the manner described by Quigley on the Cold-Eeze package. As a direct result of his use of Cold-Eeze, Mr. Edwards has lost entirely or substantially his sense of smell. As of the filing of this complaint, Mr. Edwards' sense of smell has not returned to its pre-Cold-Eeze level, and plaintiff believes that this condition is permanent.'
The lawsuit says that without the sense of smell, the plaintiffs are 'robbed of many of the joys of life. Plaintiffs can no longer enjoy the smell of fresh air, of newly cut grass, of a bouquet of flowers, of the taste of a meal.'
Quigley says on its Web site that 'zinc is astringent and may create temporary discomfort.' Also, the company says, two additives in the Cold-Eeze nasal spray, benzylkonium chloride and benzyl alcohol, 'can cause temporary stinging and burning.'
Quigley's Web site says the packaging for the product warns consumers about possible side effects, including temporary burning and stinging.
Also, the Web site says, 'Stop use and ask your doctor if symptoms persist. Statistical data regarding pre-launch safety studies for irritation and anosmia (loss of sense of smell) were consistent with isotonic saline, with no cases or incidents of anosmia.' Isotonic saline is a solution of salt.
In March, the Los Angeles Times reported that Quigley's nasal spray as well as the nasal gel Zicam Cold Remedy, manufactured by Matrixx Industries, were the targets of at least five lawsuits.
Also, the newspaper reported that the Food and Drug Administration was reviewing complaints about the two zinc-based products.
Albert Piechotta, a spokesman for Quigley, said then that no problems were reported among 80 people involved in a study of Cold-Eeze. The study was submitted to the FDA before the product could be marketed as a homeopathic remedy.
Both companies said the occurrence of anosmia among some users of the zinc sprays might be a coincidence. They said anosmia was most often caused by viruses, which produce the cold symptoms that prompt people to use the sprays.
Doctors who specialize in treating conditions involving taste and smell in California, Colorado, Connecticut and Illinois said they had seen patients who complained of a severe burning sensation followed by the inability to smell or taste after spraying their noses with one of the products.
Without science associating zinc gluconate with a permanent loss of smell, 'what really needs to be done is more research,' Dr. Richard L. Doty, director of the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, told the Los Angeles Times.
In 2003, Dr. Bruce Jafek, an otolaryngologist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, reported at the American Rhinological Society meeting on 10 cases of anosmia among zinc gluconate users. |
