Old Familiar Memories - Photo 161

Carter's Little Liver Pills

Carter's Little Liver Pills (Carter's Little Pills after 1959) were formulated as a patent medicine by Samuel J. Carter of Erie, Pennsylvania in 1868. The active ingredient is bisacodyl. Carter's Little Liver Pills predated the other available forms of bisacodyl and was a very popular and heavily advertised patent medicine up until the 1960s.

In 1951 the Federal Trade Commission demanded that company change the name to Carter's Little Pills, since "liver" in the name was deceptive.The pills did little of what was claimed. They turned out to be pretty good laxatives; everything else was advertising hype.