Lesson plan
ChestEze
ChestEze (or Do-Do ChestEze) is a British over-the-counter pharmaceutical product manufactured by Novartis for "relief of bronchial cough, wheezing, breathlessness and other symptoms of asthmatic bronchitis and to clear the chest of mucus following upper respiratory tract infection." It contains 30 mg caffeine, 18.31 mg ephedrine hydrochloride and 100 mg anhydrous theophylline. It comes in a fawn brown tablet. Recommended doses are: Adults: not more than 1 tablet in 4 hours. Maximum 4 tablets in 24 hours. Young persons over 12 years: 1 tablet and no more than 3 tablets daily with an interval of at least 4 hours between each tablet. Because ChestEze contains ephedrine, it is sometimes used illicitly in large doses by bodybuilders. This use can be dangerous, however, since theophylline can be toxic at relatively low doses. In 2008, changes in the law regarding supply of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine-containing medicines resulted in ChestEze being withdrawn from pharmacies in the bulk 30 pack size. It is still available without prescription in the 9 pack size at the pharmacist's discretion from most UK Pharmacies. On 15 August 2015 ChestEze became discontinued and is no longer available to purchase.
Article summary
ChestEze (or Do-Do ChestEze) is a British over-the-counter pharmaceutical product manufactured by Novartis for "relief of bronchial cough, wheezing, breathlessness and other symptoms of asthmatic bronchitis and to clear the chest of mucus following upper respiratory tract infection." It contains 30 mg caffeine, 18.31 mg ephedrine hydrochloride and 100 mg anhydrous theophylline. It comes in a fawn brown tablet. Recommended doses are: Adults: not more than 1 tablet in 4 hours. Maximum 4 tablets in 24 hours. Young persons over 12 years: 1 tablet and no more than 3 tablets daily with an interval of at least 4 hours between each tablet. Because ChestEze contains ephedrine, it is sometimes used illicitly in large doses by bodybuilders. This use can be dangerous, however, since theophylline can be toxic at relatively low doses. In 2008, changes in the law regarding supply of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine-containing medicines resulted in ChestEze being withdrawn from pharmacies in the bulk 30 pack size. It is still available without prescription in the 9 pack size at the pharmacist's discretion from most UK Pharmacies. On 15 August 2015 ChestEze became discontinued and is no longer available to purchase.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.