I'm not in the habit of praising drug companies for their marketing, but some applause is due to Schering-Plough, makers of Claritin-D, one of many decongestants that used to be on your drug store shelves.
Schering-Plough, bucking the excessive mercenary and callous nature of its competitors, is preserving the effectiveness of the drug even though new federal law requires products containing pseudoephedrine (a potentially fatal ingredient when misused) to be removed from counters and available only when a pharmacist hands it to you.
The rest of the industry, according to an article by Bob Cohen at Newhouse News Service, wants its best-selling decongestants displayed to consumers and has watered down the active ingredient in its decongestants to the point, Schering-Plough says, they may be no better than placebos.