The flu epidemic of 1918 increased sales of VapoRub from $900,000 to $2.9 million in just one year.[3] In 1931, the company began selling cough drops.[4] In 1948, Edward Mabry became president of Vicks, then known as the Vick Chemical Company.[5] In 1952, Vicks began selling cough syrup, and in 1959 they introduced Sinex Nasal Spray.[4] The company began selling NyQuill in 1966.[4] The parent company became Richardson-Merrell and then in 1982 divided into prescription drug company Merrell Dow (sold to Dow Chemical Company) and over-the-counter drug company Richardson-Vicks which retained the Vicks brand.