Posted Tuesday, October 7, 2008 -- 11:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The companies that make over-the-counter cough and cold products say they should not be given to children under the age of 4.

Pediatricians have been sharply critical of how the drug makers were marketing the remedies even though there is little evidence that they work on young children.

The president of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association says the companies are making the voluntarily change "out of an overabundance of caution."

The manufacturers are also adding a warning label to their products telling parents not to give young children antihistamines just to make them sleepy.

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