Lister's work in turn inspired St. Louis-based doctor Joseph Lawrence to develop an alcohol-based formula for a surgical antiseptic which included eucalyptol, menthol, methyl salicylate, and thymol (its exact composition was a trade secret).

[4] Lawrence hoped to promote Listerine's use as a general germicide as well as a surgical antiseptic, and licensed his formula to a local pharmacist named Jordan Wheat Lambert in 1881.

Real estate broker John Reynolds bought a roughly 50% stake in the royalties in the 1950s, which he then transferred to the Archdiocese of New York, and was later resold to other parties to help fund the diocese.

The Salvation Army, American Bible Society, and Wellesley College also held shares in Listerine royalties.

[4] According to Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's book Freakonomics:[9] Listerine, for instance, was invented in the nineteenth century as powerful surgical antiseptic.

But it wasn't a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a solution for "chronic halitosis" — a then obscure medical term for bad breath.

Listerine's new ads featured forlorn young women and men, eager for marriage but turned off by their mate's rotten breath.

As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchell writes, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis."

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.

[citation needed] In the United Kingdom, where in recent years the only option for most residents to obtain the original Listerine was to purchase from a dwindling number of larger branches of Boots the Chemist only the flavoured products are now obtainable as Boots has removed the Original from its selection.

[24] Distributions in case of Listerine Antiseptic Mouthwash, Original-05/22/2008 for essential oils are: menthol (mint) 0.042%, thymol (thyme) 0.064%, methyl salicylate (wintergreen) 0.06%, and eucalyptol (eucalyptus) 0.092%.

[29] On April 11, 2007, McNeil-PPC disclosed that there were potentially contaminants in all Listerine Agent Cool Blue products sold since its launch in 2006, and that all bottles were being recalled.