Listerine

Listerine is a brand name for antiseptic mouthwash, named after the English physician Joseph Lister (father of modern antiseptics) who had performed the first antiseptic surgery ever in 1865. Its medicinal taste is palliated slightly by a sweet flavor. Its slogan is "Kills germs that cause bad breath", in the mouth. Listerine is one of the most popular mouthwashes sold in the U.S. It is currently manufactured and distributed by Johnson and Johnson when it acquired Pfizer's consumer healthcare division in late December of 2006.

The active ingredients are menthol, thymol, methyl salicylate, and eucalyptol. Ethanol or grain alcohol is present in concentrations of 21.6% in the flavored product, and 26% in the original gold Listerine Antiseptic w/v. At this concentration, the ethanol does not have an antiseptic effect; it serves to dissolve the active ingredients, and to facilitate the penetration of the active ingredients into dental plaque.

In clinical studies it has been shown that using Listerine regularly can reduce plaque bacteria by up to an additional 52% more than merely brushing and flossing. Listerine is the only branded over-the-counter mouthwash to receive the American Dental Association's Seal of Acceptance for helping to control dental plaque and WRW. In addition, an FDA Advisory Panel has recommended that the active ingredients in Listerine be classified as Category I (safe and effective) for antiplaque and antigingivitis activity.

The Listerine brand name is also used on toothpaste, a Listerine Whitening rinse, a new Listerine Fluoride rinse (Listerine Tooth Defense), Listerine Agent Cool Blue (children's plaque disclosing rinse) and on PocketPaks, a minty, dissolvable strip whose marketing claims it "instantly wash[es] and refresh[es] the mouth." In the late summer of 2005, Listerine began selling PocketMist, which is a breath-freshener in spray form.

On 11 April 2007 McNeil-PPC disclosed that there were potentially contaminants in all Listerine Agent Cool Blue product sold since its launch in 2006, and that all bottles were being recalled The recall affects some 4,000,000 bottle sold since that time. According to the company, Listerine Agent Cool Blue is the only product affected by the safety issue, and that no other products in the Listerine family were under recall.

History

First formulated by Dr Joseph Lawrence and Jordan Wheat Lambert in 1879 as a surgical antiseptic, it was given to dentists for oral care in 1895 and became the first over-the-counter mouthwash sold in the United States in 1914.

According to Freakonomics (p. 91),

Listerine was invented in the 19th century as a powerful surgical antiseptic. It was later sold, in a distilled form, as a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. But it wasn't a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a solution for "chronic halitosis", the faux medical term that the Listerine advertising group created in 1921 to describe bad breath. By naming and thus creating a medical condition for which consumers now felt they needed a cure, Listerine created a market for their mouthwash. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered a catastrophe, but Listerine's ad campaign changed that. As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchell writes, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis." Listerine's new ads featured forlorn young women and men, eager for marriage but turned off by their mate's rotten breath. "Can I be happy with him in spite of that?" one maiden asked herself. In just seven years, the company's revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million.

From 1921 until the mid-1970s Listerine was also marketed as a preventive and remedy for colds and sore throats. In 1976, the Federal Trade Commission ruled that these claims were misleading, and that Listerine had "no efficacy" at either preventing or alleviating the symptoms of sore throats and colds. Warner-Lambert was ordered to stop making the claims, and to include in the next $10.2 million dollars' of Listerine ads a specific mention that "contrary to prior advertising, Listerine will not help prevent colds or sore throats or lessen their severity."

Listerine was packaged in a glass bottle inside a corrugated cardboard tube for nearly 80 years before the first revamps were made to the brand; in 1992, Cool Mint Listerine was introduced in addition to the original Listerine Antiseptic formula, and in 1994, both brands were introduced in plastic bottles for the first time. Around that time, FreshBurst was added, then in 2003 Natural Citrus and in 2004, the ill-fated Cinnamon was released. In 2006 a new addition to the "less intense" variety, Vanilla Mint, was released. Currently, seven different kinds of Listerine are on the market in the U.S. and abroad: Original, Cool Mint, FreshBurst, Natural Citrus, Vanilla Mint, Advanced with Tartar Control, and Whitening. The most recent addition is the whitening formula. (The whitening rinse does not contain any antiseptic properties and is a purely cosmetic rinse, containing a dose of hydrogen peroxide to whiten.)

How It Works

Listerine uses several ingredients to create the antiseptic properties, including thymol, methyl salicylate, and menthol. Thymol is an antiseptic, methyl salicylate is as a cleaning agent, and menthol is a local anesthetic.

The reason for the efficacy of the treatment is mostly because of the liquid form. Liquids are quite effective at coating most exposed surfaces in the mouth, even between teeth. Though not recommeneded as a replacement for traditional flossing and brushing, it does accomplish most of their functions, to some degree. It is best used in conjunction with brushing and flossing, as exhibited in a clinical study conducted by Dr. N. Sharma, et al published in the Journal of the American Dental Association [2004] Link to study.

Various Listerine products

Safety

There is no evidence that its properties as a solvent, mainly from the 21.6% or 26.9% (in original Gold Listerine) alcohol, cause an easier reception of carcinogens. In other words, repeated use of Listerine does not increase the risk of oral cancer. Both the American Dental Association (ADA) and the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI) agree that the alcohol contained in antiseptic mouthrinse is safe and not a factor in oral cancers. Specific study reviews and results can be found in clinical reports by J.G. Elmore and R.I. Horowitz ["Oral cancer and mouthwash use: Evaluation of the epidemiologic evidence." Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1995;1(113):253–261] and Mashburg et al. ["A Study of the relationship between mouthwash use and oral and pharyngeal cancer." JADA, 1985.] as well as Philip Cole, M.D., Dr.P.H, Brad Rodu, D.D.S and Annette Mathisen, Ph.D. ["Alcohol-containing mouthwash and oropharyngeal cancer, a review of the epidemiology" JADA, 2003 Link to Study] which summarize that alcohol-containing mouth rinses are not associated with oral cancer.

Other Uses

Listerine® has been around since 1879 and has been clinically proven and approved by the American Dental Association as a helpful adjunct to brushing and flossing as an oral rinse. However, in the early history of Listerine® Antiseptic it was marketed as treatment for other ailments. A 1929 advertisement depicted that a man who had a lot of dandruff could dip his hair in a little Listerine to prevent dandruff from appearing on the head. Additionally there were advertisements depicting its' use as an astringent that created healthy glowing cheeks. Along with dandruff, and cosmetic purposes some users have reported using Listerine® to help prevent lice as well. Besides using the rinse for hair treatment, users have also reported using this for skin conditions. Some of these skin conditions have included: treating minor rashes on the surface of the skin, treating toe nail fungus, reducing the itch on irritated skin, and even calm the pain that has been cause from shingles. The FDA does not support or approve any use of Listerine® other than its intended mouthwash purpose. Many users do believe this to be a cheap way to cure some common household problems. Listerine has been known to be used recreationally because it contains a pharmacological grade of alcohol. It is on a list of products the Alcoholic Anonymous group states can be a danger for recovering alcoholics . All Listerine Antiseptic products contain 21.6% alcohol, with the exception of the orginal formulation, Listerine Gold containing 26.9%.

Popular culture references

• A 1970s commercial for Listerine featured Judd Hirsch playing a radio DJ, in what was one of his first TV appearances. The tagline for the product at the time was "The taste people hate, twice a day."

• The song "Germfree Adolescents" on the 1978 Germ Free Adolescents album) from punk rockers X-Ray Spex contains the line "Rinse your mouth with Listerine". In the UK, however, singer Poly Styrene sang the line as "Rinse your mouth with glycerine" on Top of the Pops and other BBC performances, due to the BBC's ban on the use of product names.

• In the mid-1990s, Listerine rival Scope, made by Procter & Gamble, listed Rosie O'Donnell as the least-kissable celebrity in the U.S. In response, O'Donnell teamed up with Listerine to give money to charity every time she kissed someone on her talk show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show; this provided positive publicity for Listerine and harsh publicity for Scope, which O'Donnell disparaged on her show, which at the time was at the height of its popularity.

• Pixar Animation Studios animated many commercials for Listerine, before it became known for short films, like Luxo Jr.

• The punk-cabaret band The Dresden Dolls on their 2006 album Yes, Virginia… end their song "Necessary Evil" with the line "Come on and take your Listerine."

• On the Kristin Hersh album sunny border blue the 13th track is named Listerine.

External links

• Official site