A survey finds that 34 percent of parents with pre-school aged children say they have temporarily stopped using OTC cough and cold meds. Of course, this is hardly surprising, given the recent publicity that an FDA panel decided the meds shouldn’t be used by children younger than 6 years old. The reason - there was no evidence the meds are effective, and could prove harmful.

Looking ahead, 15 percent of parents with children ages 2 to under 6 years old, say they plan to stop using the meds, while 30 percent say they will continue to use them. Another 28 percent say they have not yet decided what to do, while others either have never used such drugs or were unaware of the recent safety concerns.

Interestingly, when it comes to making decisions about the safety and effectiveness of children’s OTC meds generally, pediatricians are the most trusted source for parents with children under age 6 - 71 percent say they trust them “a lot” to provide accurate info. Pharmacists are the next most-trusted, with half of parents saying they have confidence in them. But only 29 percent report having a lot of trust in the FDA.

The survey, which was conducted by National Public Radio, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, queried 1,522 adults. To read more, please look here.