Robitussin
Encyclopedia
Robitussin is a line of cold
and cough medicine
s currently produced by Pfizer
. Robitussin is available in various formulations. Robitussin contains an expectorant (Guaifenesin
); Robitussin DM adds a cough suppressant (Dextromethorphan
) to the expectorant (Guaifenesin); Robitussin CF is a cold formula that adds an expectorant and a nasal decongestant; there is a nighttime-relief formula that uses a different cough suppressant, and there is a formula with codeine, available by prescription only. A sugar-free Robitussin, introduced under the Whitehall-Robins Healthcare label, headquartered in Madison
, New Jersey
, went on the market for the first time in 2001. Other than the lack of sugar, the ingredients are the same as in regular Robitussin.
Robitussin was originally produced by AH Robins of Richmond
, Virginia
. AH Robins was purchased by American Home Products (AHP) in the late 1980s. AHP later changed its name to Wyeth
. Wyeth put the manufacturing and marketing of the brand under its Whitehall-Robins Healthcare division. Production was taken over by Pfizer when it acquired Wyeth in 2009.
Robitussin products are available over the counter in many countries worldwide, including the United States
, Philippines, Thailand
, and Nicaragua
. The manufacturing facility for Robitussin is located on Darbytown Road in Richmond, Virginia at the same location as the prior manufacturer, AH Robins.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals
sold similar cough syrups (differing slightly in flavor, but pharmacologically identical) under the names "2/G" (a reference to "glyceryl guaiacolate," an older name for guaifenesin) for the base expectorant formulation, and "2G/DM" for the guaifenesin/dextromethorphan formulation.
. Robitussin (spelled as "Robotussin" to avoid trademark
issues) is referenced in the mc chris
song "The Tussin (Robotussin)".
Tussin, an off-brand of Robitussin, was the basis of a running gag by Chris Rock
in the 1999 DVD Bigger and Blacker
in reference to its use when he was growing up, so the children did not have to go to the doctor. Robitussin is also mentioned often in the show Everybody Hates Chris
, and is used to treat any ailment that the family members may have.
One of the characters in Douglas Coupland's
2006 novel jPod
(and the CBC television show of the same name) uses "Chugatussin" as means of getting high, referring to this as "getting 'tussed up." It appears too in Microserfs
, another novel of the same author, when one of the characters is addicted to "PayLess Tussin".
Robitussin was featured on an episode of Dr. Phil
that dealt with drug addiction. An episode of the TV series House
, "Ignorance is Bliss", dealt with Robitussin abuse, using the term "Robotripping".
A character in the musical Next to Normal turns to Robitussin to get high.
It is also referenced in the song "Bass Down Low
" by Dev
featuring The Cataracs
in the lyrics "Straight buzzin', Robitussin Wanna get your mitts in my oven."
Common cold
The common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, caused primarily by rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Common symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever...
and cough medicine
Cough medicine
A cough medicine is a medicinal drug used in an attempt to treat coughing and related conditions. For dry coughs, treatment with cough suppressants may be attempted to suppress the body's urge to cough...
s currently produced by Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
. Robitussin is available in various formulations. Robitussin contains an expectorant (Guaifenesin
Guaifenesin
Guaifenesin INN or guaiphenesin , also glyceryl guaiacolate, is an expectorant drug sold over the counter and usually taken by mouth to assist the bringing up of phlegm from the airways in acute respiratory tract infections.-History:Similar medicines derived from the guaiac tree were in use as a...
); Robitussin DM adds a cough suppressant (Dextromethorphan
Dextromethorphan
Dextromethorphan is an antitussive drug. It is one of the active ingredients in many over-the-counter cold and cough medicines, such as Robitussin, NyQuil, Dimetapp, Vicks, Coricidin, Delsym, and others, including generic labels. Dextromethorphan has also found other uses in medicine, ranging...
) to the expectorant (Guaifenesin); Robitussin CF is a cold formula that adds an expectorant and a nasal decongestant; there is a nighttime-relief formula that uses a different cough suppressant, and there is a formula with codeine, available by prescription only. A sugar-free Robitussin, introduced under the Whitehall-Robins Healthcare label, headquartered in Madison
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, went on the market for the first time in 2001. Other than the lack of sugar, the ingredients are the same as in regular Robitussin.
Robitussin was originally produced by AH Robins of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. AH Robins was purchased by American Home Products (AHP) in the late 1980s. AHP later changed its name to Wyeth
Wyeth
Wyeth, formerly one of the companies owned by American Home Products Corporation , was a pharmaceutical company. The company was based in Madison, New Jersey, USA...
. Wyeth put the manufacturing and marketing of the brand under its Whitehall-Robins Healthcare division. Production was taken over by Pfizer when it acquired Wyeth in 2009.
Robitussin products are available over the counter in many countries worldwide, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Philippines, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. The manufacturing facility for Robitussin is located on Darbytown Road in Richmond, Virginia at the same location as the prior manufacturer, AH Robins.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals
Marion Merrell Dow
Marion Merrell Dow and its predecessor Marion Laboratories was a U.S. pharmaceutical company based in Kansas City, Missouri from 1950 until 1996....
sold similar cough syrups (differing slightly in flavor, but pharmacologically identical) under the names "2/G" (a reference to "glyceryl guaiacolate," an older name for guaifenesin) for the base expectorant formulation, and "2G/DM" for the guaifenesin/dextromethorphan formulation.
In media
An early reference to Robitussin being used as a recreational drug appears in the 1967 song "Hey Grandma" by Moby GrapeMoby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...
. Robitussin (spelled as "Robotussin" to avoid trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
issues) is referenced in the mc chris
Mc chris
mc chris is an American rapper, voice actor, writer and improvisational comedian....
song "The Tussin (Robotussin)".
Tussin, an off-brand of Robitussin, was the basis of a running gag by Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
in the 1999 DVD Bigger and Blacker
Bigger & Blacker
Bigger & Blacker is an album by Chris Rock, originally released on July 13, 1999, on the Dreamworks label. The album features live stand-up comedy tracks recorded for an HBO special at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and studio-recorded comic sketches, featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, Biz Markie, Gerald...
in reference to its use when he was growing up, so the children did not have to go to the doctor. Robitussin is also mentioned often in the show Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
, and is used to treat any ailment that the family members may have.
One of the characters in Douglas Coupland's
Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist. His fiction is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized terms such as McJob and...
2006 novel jPod
JPod
JPod is a novel by Douglas Coupland published by Random House of Canada in 2006. Set in 2005, the book explores the strange and unconventional everyday life of the main character, Ethan Jarlewski, and his team of video game programmers whose last names all begin with the letter 'J'.JPod was...
(and the CBC television show of the same name) uses "Chugatussin" as means of getting high, referring to this as "getting 'tussed up." It appears too in Microserfs
Microserfs
Microserfs, published by HarperCollins in 1995, is an epistolary novel by Douglas Coupland. It first appeared in short story form as the cover article for the January 1994 issue of Wired magazine and was subsequently expanded to full novel length...
, another novel of the same author, when one of the characters is addicted to "PayLess Tussin".
Robitussin was featured on an episode of Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
that dealt with drug addiction. An episode of the TV series House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, "Ignorance is Bliss", dealt with Robitussin abuse, using the term "Robotripping".
A character in the musical Next to Normal turns to Robitussin to get high.
It is also referenced in the song "Bass Down Low
Bass Down Low
"Bass Down Low" is the debut single by American recording artist Dev. It was written by Dev alongside its producers, The Cataracs, who are also featured on the track. The song was released on December 6, 2010, through Universal Republic as the lead single for Dev's debut studio album, The Night the...
" by Dev
Dev (singer)
Devin Star Tailes , better known by her stage name Dev, is an American singer. She was discovered by The Cataracs via MySpace after her friend Shane Crislip, posted her singing to some beats...
featuring The Cataracs
The Cataracs
The Cataracs are an American hip hop indie-pop duo formed in Berkeley, California, consisting of David “Campa” Benjamin Singer-Vine, a songwriter and vocalist and Niles “Cyrano” Hollowell-Dhar, a songwriter, vocalist, and producer. The duo started out as an independent group, during their years at...
in the lyrics "Straight buzzin', Robitussin Wanna get your mitts in my oven."