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Biotech / Medical : GUMM - Eliminate the Common Cold -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mike M who wrote (5023)	2/10/2004 3:00:07 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 5582

FDA Investigates Nasal Zinc Products Consumers Who Have Zicam, Cold-Eeze Complaints Can Call FDA Hot Line thedenverchannel.com POSTED: 11:00 AM MST February 10, 2004 UPDATED: 12:38 PM MST February 10, 2004 DENVER -- Some users of zinc nasal spray made by Zicam and Cold-Eeze have lost their sense of smell. After 7NEWS Investigator John Ferrugia broke the story last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is accepting complaints on those products through its hot line. 7NEWS has received more than 80 consumer complaints from around the country through e-mails and phone calls. Most complaints were about Zicam. "I have suffered from anosmia (loss of smell) since April '03 after using Zicam gel for cold symptoms," one viewer wrote. "I had a bad reaction from using Cold-Eeze nasal spray. The next morning, I felt better, but I could not smell and my sense of taste was almost gone," another viewer wrote. Both companies say their products are safe and have had no indication in any studies that their intranasal zinc products have caused anyone to lose their sense of smell. But Dr. Richard Doty, a well-known nose expert from the University of Pennsylvania and a consultant for Zicam, told 7NEWS, "I don't have a scientific opinion as to whether it has adverse effects. I just don't know ... there are no studies out there." "Studies need to be done, careful and conservative studies," he said. Another nose specialist, Dr. Karl Whitley, is a paid consultant for Cold-Eeze. He said, "Everyone is going to look into it more deeply because of this story." "Going forward it is clearly prudent to test more extensively what side effects people develop," Whitley said. But that is little consolation for consumers who have been told by their doctors that their loss of smell may be permanent. These complaints involve the nasal zinc product of both Zicam and Cold-Eeze but they don't include other products, such as lozenges, sold by those companies. If you have had problems with the nasal zinc products, the FDA wants to hear from you. You can call toll-free (888) INFO-FDA or (888) 463-6332 or fill out a special form on the FDA's Web site. Additional Resources: Have You Had Similar Problems? Submit A Report To The FDA Contact The Investigators About This Story Discuss This Story With Others Cold-Eeze's Web site Zicam's Web site University of Colorado: Department Of Otolaryngology University Of Connecticut Taste and Smell Center Previous Stories: February 7, 2004: Chef Claims Cold-Eeze Spray Killed Her Sense Of Smell February 6, 2004: User Says Zicam Robbed Her Of Sense Of Smell Copyright 2004 by TheDenverChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

To: Mike M who wrote (5023)	2/10/2004 3:09:55 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 5582

"7NEWS has received more than 80 consumer complaints from around the country through e-mails and phone calls. Most complaints were about Zicam." Message 19791062

To: Mike M who wrote (5023)	2/10/2004 4:20:49 PM
From: Kevin Podsiadlik	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5582

my pump has never sprayed, dispersed or otherwise projected tiny liquid particles in multiple directions. Okay, we're getting into semantics here. People know what a "nasal spray" is. Whether the actual action of the Zicam pump is a spray, stream, shower, squirt, or splash is not an important issue. I doubt that the method of delivery plays a large part Why do you say that? It seems an obvious scenario. Person who's used nasal sprays like Afrin decides to try Zicam. Person sees Zicam comes in same bottle type as Afrin, and so assumes it's used the same way. Person inserts nozzle all the way into the nose and pumps. Ow, burn, no more smell. It's not going to be hard to sell a jury on that. One of the most common links to anosmia stems from the common cold; another is sinus infection. So, MTXX's argument is going to be that all of the complainants were going to lose their sense of smell to the virus whether or not they used Zicam? That's going to be a tough sell. Yes, commit hari-kari on their own petard Death by mixed metaphor? So what are you saying? All those products on the zicam.com website and a recall of just one puts MTXX out of business? What about that 100% growth rate? What about the fact that they seem to have money to burn when it comes to suing Internet critics? I can see why your position in this company is suddenly "insignificant".