Pricier Walgreens Children’s Cough Medicine Is Identical to Cheaper Adult Version, Class Action Claims

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Walgreens has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges its Children’s Cough DM product is sold at a higher price than the adult Cough DM product despite containing identical ingredients.

According to the 27-page lawsuit, the product’s front label, which shows a cartoon image of a child and states that it is “For children” and suitable for “Ages 4 & older,” leads consumers to believe the Walgreens Children’s 12-Hour Cough Relief Cough DM product is specifically formulated for children.

“The truth, however, is that the Children’s Cough DM product has the exact same formula and ingredients as the Adult’s Cough DM product,” the suit reads. “Defendant puts the same cough syrup into two different products with different labels.”

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Compared to its kiddie counterpart, the adult Cough DM product’s front label makes no mention of the word “children” and is printed without a cartoonish illustration or age range, the case relays. In addition, it can be found in the “Adult Cold Remedies” category on Walgreens’ website, while the Children’s Cough DM product is listed under “Children’s Cough, Cold & Flu,” the complaint says.

The filing charges, however, that Walgreens “tricks” shoppers into believing the products are specially suited for the groups to whom they are marketed when in fact “the Children’s Cough DM product is simply the Adult’s Cough DM product sold at a higher price.” A three-fluid-ounce bottle of the Children’s Cough DM product is sold for $13.99 at Walgreens, while a bottle of the adult cough medicine—allegedly the same product at the same volume—is available for $10.49, the case says.

The dosage information on the children’s cough medicine package recommends that children take less of the formula than adults, but otherwise “both the active and inactive ingredients listed on the back-label of both the Children’s Cough DM product and Adult Cough DM product are identical in form and quantity,” the suit contends.

According to the complaint, Walgreens charges a premium price for the Children’s Cough DM product because of the dosage difference compared to the adult version—i.e., because the children’s cough medicine will last longer.

The filing argues that consumers want a product that is “guaranteed to be safe for children” and are therefore willing to pay higher prices for goods specially designed for kids.

The plaintiff, a California resident, last purchased the Walgreens Children’s Cough DM product in 2021 and, after seeing the front-label representations, believed it was “uniquely” created for children, the suit claims. Like other consumers, she would not have paid as much for the cough medicine or purchased it at all had she known it was the same as the less expensive adult version, the case charges.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who at any time bought the Walgreens Children’s 12-Hour Cough Relief Cough DM product within their state of residence for personal use.

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