Phenylephrine, a popular ingredient found in many over-the-counter cold medicines, is an ineffective decongestant when taken orally and works no better than a placebo, an independent advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.

The 16-member panel voted unanimously that the ingredient found in some versions of common products like Sudafed, Mucinex, Benadryl and Vicks is completely useless when taken in oral pill form. The FDA will next have to decide whether the drug should be taken off store shelves.

This drug and this oral dose should have been removed from the market a long time ago, panel member Jennifer Schwartzott, a patient representative from New York, said Tuesday. The patient community requires and deserves medications that treat their symptoms, safely and effectively, and I dont believe that this medication does that.