It's the cough and cold season but new research say over-the-counter remedies are not effective even for adults.

One health group is questioning whether these drugs work any better than a placebo.

And say consumers may be wasting their money.

But drug makers say people wouldn't buy the products if they didn't work.

"There's an old medical saying, that if you take the cough medicine your symptoms will go away in seven days and if you don't, your symptoms will go away in a week," family physician Rick Kellerman said.

The FDA recently banned over-the-counter cold medicines for children under two after studies questioned their safety and effectiveness.