Ninth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Lozenges are consumed by many people, including professional speakers and singers, when they experience pharyngitis. This oral remedy is commonly available on the shelves or sold over the counter in pharmaceutical stores. Research surrounding lozenges has largely focused on their efficacy and suitability of taste in the treatment of serious and mild sore throat, as well as examined their efficacy in comparison and in tandem with other drugs and treatment modes. However, no study to date has examined the commercial narratives on lozenges; in other words, little is known about what promotional texts on lozenges actually convey to consumers. In this study, a corpus of texts was collated from the websites of commercial companies selling lozenges for the treatment of sore throat. The formation of this corpus is based on two steps: a word search on “lozenges” using the “Google” search engine as well as consulting curated lists of online science websites. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the discourses on lozenges that emerge from the corpus are identified and discussed in terms of their veracity of claims and implications for the consumer. This study aims to make an original contribution by filling a gap in the literature on pharmaceutical discourse and scientific studies on lozenges.