Vigroids is the brand name of a liquorice sweet. The small black pellets are particularly marketed as an expectorant lozenge

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...

 for singers, using the slogan "for clarity of voice". The product is manufactured by Ernest Jackson & Company Ltd of Crediton

Crediton

Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...

 in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, a subsidiary of Kraft Group

In November 2010 the name was changed from "Nigroids" to "Vigroids"; the former name became a subject of some controversy due to it being similar to the word "nigger

Nigger

Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...

" or "negroid

Negroid race

Negroid is a term sometimes used by forensic anthropologists and physical anthropologists to refer to populations that share certain phenotypic traits such as high Melanin levels and skeletal features associated with ancestry from Sub-saharan Africa.It was introduced by early Racial science used...

". Originally made by Ferris and Company of Bristol, the pellets had been sold under the brand name 'Nigroids' since 1900.

The principal ingredient of Vigroids is liquorice block juice. The company warns that licorice can raise blood pressure, and that those with a history of hypertension

Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...

 should not take too many. They suggest limiting consumption to 10 per day. No sugar is used. Small quantities of other flavourings such as menthol

Menthol

Menthol is an organic compound made synthetically or obtained from peppermint or other mint oils. It is a waxy, crystalline substance, clear or white in color, which is solid at room temperature and melts slightly above. The main form of menthol occurring in nature is -menthol, which is assigned...

, eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 and peppermint

Peppermint

Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint and spearmint . The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world...

 are added to help the pellets act as a breath mint.

History

Nigroids were invented by Ferris & Co. Ltd., manufacturing chemists of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

. The company promoted them with the slogan:

For Hoarseness, "Tickling of the Throat," etc. They afford protection to the Voice, Throat, and Chest, against ill-effects of fog, cold and damp. Invaluable to singers and speakers.

Ernest Jackson also manufacture a very similar product in similar packaging called 'Mighty Imps'. Also based on licorice, the ingredients list of Mighty Imps is slightly different and includes artificial sweetener and capsicum.

Directly comparable products include "Tabu", manufactured in Italy by Menozzi & De Rosa of Milan. Vigroids also bear a strong resemblance to Sen-Sen

Sen-Sen

Sen-Sen is a type of breath freshener originally marketed as a "breath perfume" in the late nineteenth century by the T. B. Dunn Company, currently produced by F&F Foods. Sen-Sen bears a strong resemblance to Nigroids, a liquorice sweet made by Ernest Jackson & Company Ltd.Sen-sen can be purchased...

, a liquorice product made by T. B. Dunn Company.