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People in the U.S. spend billions of dollars every year on over-the-counter cough medicines, but the nation's physicians state that a majority of cough medicines rarely does anything to alleviate cough and the discomfort it brings.

Dr. Richard Irwin, who is the chairman of a cough guidelines committee for the American College of Chest Physicians, claims that a majority of over-the-counter cough syrups contain drugs that are dosed very low, rendering them ineffective.

Additionally a report by Web MD reveals that over-the-counter cough syrups are typically mixtures of drugs that have never even been proven to treat coughs.

A lot of drugstores have a huge stockpile of cough syrups that promise speedy cough relief without a prescription, but is there any point to this? Irwin, who is also a professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester states that there is not that much justification in using over-the-counter cough syrups, according to numerous studies. 

He added that not only are cough medicines ineffective, but have no capabilities of treating coughs due to colds, which is the most common cause of coughs. This action would also delay a person from seeking proper medical treatment for more serious coughs such as whooping cough.

The group also added guidelines that states several information regarding the use of over-the-counter cough drugs, as reported by NBC News. The guidelines particularly state that a majority of the over-the-counter cough medicines promise to not cause drowsiness, and it's all because the dosages are not enough, and will more likely be ineffective because of this.

Dextromethorphan is a popular and top-selling over-the-counter cough syrup Robitussin. A spokesman for the company that makes Robitussin, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare states that the Food and Drug Administration has deemed dextromethorphan to be safe and effective.

The guidelines also include a number of underlying causes for coughs, which include severe heartburn, allergies, bronchitis and asthma.