The History of NyQuil

In the 1950s, Vicks introduced some of the first cough syrups that didn’t rely on narcotic ingredients like codeine. Then the company built upon this with the release of NyQuil in 1966. Notably, NyQuil was the first product aimed at multi-symptom relief, rather than just tackling one cold symptom. In fact, up until then, it had been necessary to take multiple medications for different symptoms and a medical professional would need to let patients know what which ingredients were safe to combine. NyQuil combined the ingredients for consumers, eliminating the need to purchase multiple products for different symptoms, which could sometimes be confusing and even dangerous. (It should be noted that consumers still need to use caution if they are combining multiple medications — includuing OTC products — today!) NyQuil’s packaging was also quite revolutionary, as it was the first medication in its category to include a dosing cup. The origin of NyQuil’s name, which today is extremely recognizable, is actually a complete mystery, although some people believe that it stands for “nighttime tranquility.” The brand’s famous tagline, “The nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine,” was first used in 1979. Since its debut on store shelves, NyQuil has become one of the most popular OTC (over-the-counter) medications of all time and Vicks has even expanded the line to include products like DayQuil and Sinex.