The four forms
Dosage forms
This site covers four of FDA's dosage forms: the ones you suck or chew. The distinction is not cosmetic. A dosage form is a regulatory category, and it decides which monograph a product is filed under and what its label has to say.
The regulation defines it by the form
The cough and cold monograph does not define a lozenge. It defines two kinds of cough medicine, and uses the lozenge to tell them apart.
(b) Oral antitussive drug. A drug that either is taken by mouth or is dissolved in the mouth in the form of a lozenge and acts systemically to relieve cough.21 CFR 341.3(b)
(c) Topical antitussive drug. A drug that relieves cough when inhaled after being applied topically to the throat or chest in the form of an ointment or from a steam vaporizer, or when dissolved in the mouth in the form of a lozenge for a local effect.21 CFR 341.3(c)
21 CFR 341, 2025 annual edition, retrieved from govinfo on 4 September 2026. The monograph explained.
The four forms on this site
| Form | Products | Prescription | Active ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lozenge The default. A pressed or moulded solid that dissolves slowly in the mouth. It is the form the regulation itself uses when it wants to describe a medicine you suck. | 865 | 3 | 51 |
| Chewing gum A gum base carrying an active ingredient released by chewing rather than by dissolving. Nearly all of these are nicotine replacement. | 327 | - | 2 |
| Pastille Softer than a lozenge and usually gelatin or gum based. FDA treats it as its own dosage form, so it is counted separately here even though a shopper would not distinguish it from a lozenge on the shelf. | 67 | - | 6 |
| Troche A flat, usually compounded tablet designed to dissolve against the cheek or under the tongue. Almost extinct in the FDA listing. | 1 | - | 1 |
FDA National Drug Code Directory, queried on the exact dosage form field and retrieved 4 September 2026.
What is deliberately not here
FDA lists 572 products in the dosage form TABLET, ORALLY DISINTEGRATING. They are not on this site. A different dosage form. It disintegrates on the tongue in seconds rather than dissolving slowly, and the listings are dominated by systemic prescription medicines. A reader who wants those should go to the FDA directory directly. The reasoning is set out in full on the methodology page.