COLD MEDS MOVE BEHIND THE COUNTER

Pauline Cole, 10, of Jeannette, walked up to the Wal-Mart pharmacy
counter in Greensburg, stood on her tiptoes and waved a card showing
a box of Sudafed at the pharmacist.

"Where is this?" she asked, peering over the counter.

"If we have it, it would be on the shelf over there," the pharmacist
said, pointing to a shelf located next to the pharmacy.

The freckle-faced girl walked over to the shopper-friendly "Cough and
Cold Express" station and picked up a box of Sudafed.

Pennsylvania pharmacies do not have to restrict sales of medicines
that contain pseudoephedrine -- such as Sudafed, Tylenol Flu and
Aleve Sinus & Headache -- but many are doing it on their own. The
ingredient can be illegally used to make the highly addictive street
drug, methamphetamine.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill in September that would limit how much
cold medicine people can buy and require them to show photo
identification and sign a log.

But for this cold season, at least, the potential for a consumer
nightmare has proven to be not so much of a hassle at Pittsburgh pharmacies.

"It doesn't surprise me that the drug stores are having some issues
with (enforcing their policies) because it is voluntary right now,"
said Rob Quigley, executive director of Drug Free Pennsylvania.

Wal-Mart's company-wide policy limits customers' purchases of
products containing only pseudoephedrine to three per visit. Pharmacy
employees are told to ask customers for identification proving that
they are 18 or older.

The store keeps plastic cards showing the picture of the product on
the shelves in place of the actual product. Customers take the card
up to the pharmacist and then are directed to a nearby shelf -- only
a few steps from where the products originally were kept.

Eckerd, CVS and Rite-Aid pharmacies all have similar policies with
slight variations in the restrictions.

At the Squirrel Hill Rite-Aid store, three shelves are vacant and
covered with signs directing consumers to the pharmacy. Since August,
all drugs containing pseudophedrine have been kept out of reach.

A sign states: "Pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in many nasal
decongestants, is being chemically altered by criminals to produce
illegal drugs."

Methamphetamine can be made from commonly available household
products such as drain cleaner, lithium batteries, rock salt, paint
thinner and cold medicines.

Kristal Milo, a pharmacist at a CVS store Downtown, said the company
requires, "anything that has a single entity of pseudoephedrine" to
be kept behind the counter.

Mike DeAngelis, manager of CVS corporate communications said the
policy, which was instituted July 1, states that every CVS is limited
to selling 9 grams of pseudoephedrine to each customer, "which
equates to 3 boxes or 4 bottles in liquid form."

Milo said she has her doubts about the system.

"People can still get it at flea markets if they are going to abuse
it," she said.