A lesser-known neighbor 75 years of Tums -- all in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- A fruity scent fills the air as a multihued stream of tablets click and clack into plastic bottles and then zip away. A few yards away, the aroma turns minty as round, white wafers are sealed tightly into rolls.

The tasty tablets sit in jars and bowls on desks. Workers will occasionally pop a couple into their mouths as a snack.

"It's almost like candy to us," plant manager Glen Giles said.

But it isn't candy. It's Tums.

More than 6 billion of the chalky antacids are made each year in the red brick building across Broadway from its better-known neighbor, Busch Stadium, home for the St. Louis Cardinals. Representatives from GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Tums, say few people are aware that the site is where the popular antacid and calcium supplement is made.

In the past year, Tums had three of the top 10 antacids by sales in dollars, according to statistics from Information Research Inc. During that period, Tums' extra-strength tablets sold more units than any other brand-name antacid.

Remedy for wife

Tums are forever tied to St. Louis. Before heading out on an ocean cruise in 1928, St. Louis pharmacist Jim Howe formulated a mint-flavored remedy for his wife's indigestion using calcium carbonate. It worked -- not only for her, but for other passengers on the ship.

Seventy-five years later, Tums are known around the world.

Since 1930, the plant in downtown St. Louis has been making the antacid tablets. They were first made by the Lewis-Howe Co., which took its name from Howe and his uncle, A.H. Lewis, who was a pharmacist in Bolivar in southwest Missouri.

In 1885, a 14-year-old Howe came to work for Lewis at his drug store. Five years later, he was certified as a pharmacist in Missouri.

Historical accounts from Tums indicate Howe developed the product in the basement of his St. Louis home and it was named in a radio contest by a nurse at Jefferson Barracks in south St. Louis County.

The downtown plant has produced every Tums tablet containing sugar that has ever been made. Sugar-free Tums, which make up less than 2 percent of sales, are made in Aiken, S.C.

"This is the home of Tums," spokeswoman Malesia Dunn said. "I don't think there's ever been any talk about moving or changing or doing anything different. There's definitely a commitment on behalf of the company to remain here in St. Louis."

On the Net

TUMS: www.tums.com

GlaxoSmithKline: www.gsk.com

Information Research Inc.: www.infores.com