| Halls Cough Drops | |
| Currentowner: | Mondelēz International |
| Origin: | England |
| Introduced: | 1930s |
| Markets: | Throat lozenges/cough drops |
Halls is a British brand of a mentholated cough drop owned by Mondelēz International since 2015. In 2016, it was one of the biggest selling brands of over-the-counter medications sold in Great Britain, with sales of £32.5 million.[1]
The Hall Brothers company was founded in 1893 by Thomas Harold Hall and Norman Smith Hall. The cough drops were first made in the 1930s on Stanley Road, Whitefield, Lancashire.[2] The company was acquired by Warner-Lambert in 1964 with production moved to Dumers Lane, Radcliffe in 1970. Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert in June 2000. Two years later the brand was bought by Cadbury Schweppes, which was purchased by Kraft foods and later restructured.
Halls cough drops contain menthol, which acts as local anesthetic and "creates a cooling sensation".[3] It also acts as a cough suppressant.[4]
In some parts of the world, including Brazil,[5] Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia,[6] the Philippines, and Pakistan, Halls is advertised as a mentholated hard candy and is not recognised as a medicine for coughs. In the UK, Halls Extra Strong has recently dropped all mention of an active ingredient (or of coughs) from the packaging, and now describes the contents as "Extra Strong Original flavour hard boiled sweets".