WASHINGTON, Dec. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27:  COLD WEATHER MISERIES

Profile America — Thursday, December 27th.  The holidays are mostly a time of bustling good cheer — but they are also a time for winter's most frequent misery — the common cold, and the cough that often goes along with it.  More than a century ago, a restaurant owner in Poughkeepsie, New York, did something to make life a little easier for cold sufferers.  James Smith cooked up the first batch of cough drops in 1847, in two flavors still popular today — cherry and licorice.  There are close to 48,000 pharmacies and drug stores across the U.S.  Selling over-the-counter cold remedies is part of their annual sales of more than $202 billion. You can find current data on the country's economy by downloading the new "America's Economy" mobile application at www.census.gov/mobile.

Sources:  2007 Economic Census, NAICS 446110

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau