Tums

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").

For other uses, see Tums (disambiguation).
Tums
Product typeAntacid
OwnerHaleon
CountryUnited States
Introduced1930
Previous owners
Websitewww.tums.com

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. 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]

Upper part of beige and brick red manufacturing plant buildings
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]

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.
  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.
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