Information Update: Health Canada Removes Purgative Use From Label for Over-the-Counter Oral Sodium Phosphate Products
-EarthTimes
08/06/2009 - Further to the Public Warning issued March 5, 2009, Health Canada is informing Canadians that over-the-counter oral sodium products are no longer indicated for bowel cleansing. These products have either been voluntarily relabelled to remove the bowel cleansing (i.e., "purgative") indication, or discontinued from the Canadian market. Oral sodium phosphate products should only be used as a laxative. More>>>

Lawsuit filed against laxative maker over risks
-CTV.ca
07/09/2009 - More Canadian patients are joining a class-action lawsuit filed last year against the makers of an over-the-counter oral laxative, which has been linked to kidney damage in some patients who used it as a bowel preparation prior to having a colonoscopy. More>>>

C.B. Fleet Says Bowel Cleansers Safe
-EndoNurse
07/08/2009 - LYNCHBURG, Va.—Last year, C.B. Fleet Company voluntarily recalled its over-the-counter products Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Phospho-soda EZ-Prep Bowel Cleansing System after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert stating that oral sodium-phosphates bowel-cleansing solutions should be available by prescription only. More>>>

Drug that could damage kidneys being sold over the counter here
-Jamaica Observer
07/08/2009 - A drug - Phospho-soda - that could cause severe kidney injury, especially in seniors, is still being sold over the counter in Jamaica, six months after its US manufacturer yanked it off American shelves. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has frowned on Phospho-soda, an over-the-counter (OTC), bowel-cleansing drug, saying it could have "serious, adverse" effects on users and should be sold by prescription only. More>>>