Silent Treatment : Nose Strip Wins OK to Be Sold as Snoring Remedy

A bandage-like strip that runners, football and hockey players wear on their noses to facilitate breathing has secured regulators’ approval to be marketed as a snoring remedy.

Until now, Food and Drug Administration regulations barred CNS Inc. of Minneapolis from selling the adhesive strips as a snoring cure until it could prove they work through testing on humans. Tests completed in the last year showed that 75% of people who used them snored less often and less loudly, the company said.

“Snoring is a breathing problem, and Breathe Right strips can improve nasal breathing,” CNS Chairman Dan Cohen said. “We have believed for some time that snorers represented one of the largest markets for the Breathe Right strip, and this clearance will enable us to address them directly in our advertising,” Cohen said.

The strips have two plastic cords through the middle that act to keep the strip flat. When the strip is stuck across the bridge of the nose, the cords pull back on the strip like a spring, trying to flatten it. This spring action pulls the nasal passages open. Sleepers who don’t get enough air through their noses open their mouths, which promotes snoring.

The strips, sold as a breathing aid since 1993, are priced around $5 for a box of 10, $12 for a box of 30.