Tums

Last updated
Tums
Quite simply, a pile of tums.jpg
Product type Antacid
Owner Haleon
CountryUnited States
Introduced1930
Previous owners
Website www.tums.com

Tums (stylized as TUMS) is an antacid made of sucrose (table sugar) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) manufactured by Haleon in St. Louis, Missouri, US. They are also available in a sugar-free version. It is an over-the-counter drug, available at many retail stores, including drug stores, grocery stores and mass merchandisers. It provides relief from heartburn and indigestion ("sour stomach").

Contents

History

In 1928, James Harvey "Jim" Howe (born 1873 College Corner, Ohio, and died 1960 Webster Groves, Missouri), a pharmacist in St. Louis, Missouri, developed Tums in the basement of his home while treating his wife's indigestion. The remedy caught on, and commercial production began in 1930 by the Lewis-Howe Company, which took its name from Howe and his uncle, A. H. Lewis, who was a pharmacist in Bolivar, Missouri; Howe worked in his uncle's drugstore as a teenager.[ citation needed ] Tums were named in 1930 after a radio contest, which was won by a nurse who came up with the phrase "Tums for the Tummy." [1]

Tums plant in St. Louis (2018) Tums plant-St Louis MO-2018.jpg
Tums plant in St. Louis (2018)

In 1978 the company was purchased by Revlon of New York, making it no longer a St. Louis–based company. Revlon's Norcliff Thayer unit oversaw the Tums brand. Revlon spun Norcliff Thayer off to the British Beecham Group in 1986, and Beecham eventually became GlaxoSmithKline through a series of mergers.

Since 1930, a plant originally built by Lewis-Howe in downtown St. Louis has been making the antacid tablets. [2] The factory complex remains the main manufacturing site for Tums, and GlaxoSmithKline completed millions of dollars' worth of renovations and modernizations during the 2000s decade. [3] [4]

Medical uses

Since Tums is an over-the-counter drug, it is not considered a pharmaceutical-grade treatment (does not require a prescription). Prescription strength acid reflux medications often contain proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) or histamine H2 receptor blockers (H2 blockers, H2 antagonists). [5]

Advertising

Famous advertising campaigns for Tums have included "Tums for the Tummy" and, much later for television in the 1970s, "Mother Tums" ("There, there!"), and since 1981, a barbershop jingle sung to the theme music used in all versions of the TV crime drama series Dragnet . [6]

Varieties

Tums comes in chewable tablets that are taken orally. It is also available in different flavors such as peppermint and fruit flavors such as berry, orange, and cherry. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antacid</span> Substance that relieves stomach problems

An antacid is a substance which neutralizes stomach acidity and is used to relieve heartburn, indigestion, or an upset stomach. Some antacids have been used in the treatment of constipation and diarrhea. Marketed antacids contain salts of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, or sodium. Some preparations contain a combination of two salts, such as magnesium carbonate and aluminum hydroxide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GSK plc</span> UK healthcare company

GSK plc is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, which was itself a merger of a number of pharmaceutical companies around the Smith, Kline & French firm.

Heartburn, also known as pyrosis, cardialgia or acid indigestion, is a burning sensation in the central chest or upper central abdomen. Heartburn is usually due to regurgitation of gastric acid into the esophagus. It is the major symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gastroesophageal reflux disease</span> Flow of stomach contents into the esophagus

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a chronic upper gastrointestinal disease in which stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/or complications. Symptoms include dental corrosion, dysphagia, heartburn, odynophagia, regurgitation, non-cardiac chest pain, extraesophageal symptoms such as chronic cough, hoarseness, reflux-induced laryngitis, or asthma. In the long term, and when not treated, complications such as esophagitis, esophageal stricture, and Barrett's esophagus may arise.

H<sub>2</sub> receptor antagonist Class of medications

H2 antagonists, sometimes referred to as H2RAs and also called H2 blockers, are a class of medications that block the action of histamine at the histamine H2 receptors of the parietal cells in the stomach. This decreases the production of stomach acid. H2 antagonists can be used in the treatment of dyspepsia, peptic ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease. They have been surpassed by proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). The PPI omeprazole was found to be more effective at both healing and alleviating symptoms of ulcers and reflux oesophagitis than the H2 blockers ranitidine and cimetidine.

Lucozade is a British brand of soft drinks and energy drinks manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter, it was acquired by the British pharmaceutical company Beecham's in 1938 and sold as Lucozade, an energy drink for the sick. Its advertising slogan was "Lucozade aids recovery". It was sold mostly in pharmacies up until the 1980s before it was more readily available as a sports drink in shops across the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Famotidine</span> Medication that reduces stomach acid

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cimetidine</span> Medication

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alka-Seltzer</span> Effervescent antacid and pain reliever

Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever first marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company of Elkhart, Indiana, United States. Alka-Seltzer contains three active ingredients: aspirin (ASA), sodium bicarbonate, and anhydrous citric acid. The aspirin is a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory, the sodium bicarbonate is an antacid, and the citric acid reacts with the sodium bicarbonate and water to form effervescence.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eno (drug)</span> Brand of antacids

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Magnesium salts are available as a medication in a number of formulations. They are used to treat magnesium deficiency, low blood magnesium, eclampsia, and several other conditions. Magnesium is an essential nutrient.

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References

  1. Thomaselli, Rich (29 March 2010). "Tums Brand, Like Acid Indigestion, Is Timeless". Ad Age. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  2. St. Louis Sage (15 November 2018). "How long have Tums been churned out in that big, old factory by the ballpark?". St. Louis Magazine . Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  3. Brown, Lisa (September 5, 2010). "Tums still rolling after 80 years". www.stltoday.com. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  4. Latzke, Jeff (January 1, 2004). "Tums give 75 years of relief". www.enquirer.com. The Cincinnati Enquirer via Associated Press . Retrieved 9 November 2013.[ dead link ]
  5. What are the effects of long-term use of acid reflux medications? Rabin, Roni (15 October 2015). "Taking Heartburn Drugs Long-Term". New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  6. Brunsdale, Mitzi (2010-07-26). Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection. ABC-CLIO. p. 250. ISBN   9780313345302 . Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  7. "TUMS ULTRA- calcium carbonate tablet, chewable". nih.gov. National Library of Medicine at NIH. December 12, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2020.