Back in the day any quack could create a cough mixture and sell it to an unsuspecting public. There were no rules and regulations on what ingredients you could use, and there certainly wasn't an 'advertising standards authority'.
From morphine to heroin, root beer and marijuana, any manner of dubious ingredients where thrown together and sold as the ultimate cure for your cough.
Take a look at our selection of Victorian ads for cough mixtures, and the dubious ingredients in them.