Bumpy cough drops

It's that time of year: time for sniffles and coughs and the usual winter ailments.

It's hard to go any place where you don't hear someone clearing his throat or sneezing or snorting. The paraphenalia of sickness takes over too. Boxes of tissues pop up on every table and cabinet, and space heaters proliferate.

Along with the tissues, comes an array of pills and nose spray and the ubiquitous cough drop.

I'm partial to cherry flavored cough drops, and I typically buy the store brand variety. I do wonder, however, why those cough drops are molded the way they are.

I can't really see what the shape is supposed to represent. I'm sure it was supposed to have some brand significance even though it is invisible to me and therefore totally ineffective in that regard.

The bumpy surface does get my attention, however, because it has a tendency to tear up the roof of my mouth.

So -- here's the picture: you are sick to begin with. Your nose is stuffy and sore. Your throat hurts. And now to top it all off, the roof of your mouth is injured and painful.

I think we need to adopt a policy that requires all cough drops to be smoothly shaped. Is that too much to ask?