tl;dr: Popular OTC cold medicines like DayQuil are largely combinations of one useful ingredient (acetaminophen) plus ineffective additives like dextromethorphan and phenylephrine—the latter the FDA has been trying to pull from shelves for years. Beyond the massive markups (up to 6,000%), these combo products drive dangerous unintentional acetaminophen overdoses, since patients stacking multiple cold meds often unknowingly quadruple their dose. The author argues the FDA should stop approving drugs based on weak efficacy evidence and separate acetaminophen from combo products entirely.