Special Report: Cough-cold shoppers are basket-fillers

While such natural and homeopathic remedies as essential oils, tea and Grandma’s chicken soup are becoming more prevalent for preventing and treating colds among healthy-minded consumers, OTC medication is still a key component in their cough-cold arsenal, and sales of OTC cold remedies often drive sales of such related items as tissues, hand sanitizer and nasal spray, according to a recent study by ECRM and HellaWella, a consumer healthy-living website owned by Lebhar-Friedman.