Benzonatate is a cough suppressant available by prescription as a generic medication or under the brand Tessalon. It is chemically related to medicines used as local anesthetics and works by numbing the nerves in the lungs which trigger a cough reflex. It was approved by the FDA in the 1950s. A recent issue of The Medical Letter briefly highlighted an FDA warning about benzonatate. (Links to The Medical Letter review and the FDA warning are below.) The FDA warning focused on accidental overdos...