Report from the Select Committee on patent medicines.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Patent Medicines.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report from the Select Committee on patent medicines. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    The Inadequacy of Existing Law. 19. In opposition to any change in the law affecting the sale or advertisement of Q. 6275. secret remedies, it was contended to us on behalf of the Proprietary Articles Section of the London Chamber of Commerce that false statements or false pretences in respect of such remedies are already adequately dealt with either by Common Law or by certain existing Acts ; and that adequate powers of prosecution are already vested in certain officials and Departments of State. After most careful and prolonged consideration, in public and in private, we are convinced that this is not the case. 20. By strict interpretation of existing statutes, of the precedents of Common Law, or of the authority of officials and Departments, considerable powers of prevention and prosecution may exist nominally. But we are satisfied that the difficulties of bringing these powers into successful operation are so numerous and great that for all practical purposes the sale and advertisement of secret remedies (unless they contain scheduled poisons) is unrestricted by law in this country. 21. In final support of this view we would quote the two most weighty official opinions available to us. Mr. Guy Stephenson, Assistant-Director of Public Prosecu- tions assured us that “ the difficulty of successfully prosecuting for any false statement q. 1327. with regard to the powers of a medicine, is almost insuperable.” He then gave evidence as follows :— Chairman^ That is to say, the law is practically non-existent, speaking q 1328-9. generally % Witness7\ If you like to put it in that way. Chairman.'] Or, in other words, the vendors of patent and proprietary medicines can practically do what they like, so long as they keep outside the bounds of gross and obvious impropriety ? Witness.] It would seem so—yes. And Mr. MacFadden, M.B., of the Local Government Board, gave the following evidence;— Chairman?^ In fact, we may take it then, as a general summary of your view, that the existing laws are not operative as regards this class of articles, and that ^ ’ they must almost necessarily be inoperative ? Witness?^ That is so. The Situation Kesulting from Existing Law. 22. The situation, therefore, as regards the sale and advertisement of patent and proprietary medicines and articles may be summarised in one sentence as follows. For all practical purposes British law is powerless to prevent any person from procuring any drug, or making any mixture, whether potent or without any therapeutical activity 324 1330 whatever (so long as it does not contain a scheduled poison) advertising it in any 11^874. decent terms as a cure for any disease or ailment, recommending it by bogus testimonials and the invented opinions and facsimile signatures of fictitious physicians, and selling it under any name he chooses, on the payment of a small stamp duty, for any price he can persuade a credulous public to pay. Statistics of The Trade in Proprietary Remedies. 23. We pass now to an examination of the trade in proprietary remedies as it exists in this country, and in the first place, to its fiscal and financial side. The yield of the duties was, to March 31, 1914, in respect of 43,156 licences, £10,791, and in respect of duties upon medicines apart from licences, for 1912, £327,856, for 1913, £328,318, for 1914, £360,376, thus showing an increase of £31,958 during the past twelve months, the greatest advance in one year for many years. Of the whole revenue all but a very small sum was paid in England. The number of medicine stamps issued in the year ending March 31, 1908, was 41,757,575, of which 33 millions were for l|^d., 74 millions for 3d., and one million for 6d. For the year ending March 31, 1914, it was 44,427,166, of which 34 millions were for 14d., nearly 9 millions for 3d., and a little over one million for 6d. The increase is thus rather over millions in six years. The Customs and Excise informed us that it was impossible to tell from these figures what the total sales amounted to, and therefore whether the consumption is increasing or not. But on the assumption that all the l|d. stamps were put upon medicines retailed at Is. 14d. (which is not entirely the case), the sales of these would reach about £1,930,000, and that all the 3d. stamps were put upon medicines retailed at 2s. 9d. the sales of these would be about £1,275,000, or nearly £3,200,000 for these two Q. 62. Q 201. b 0.68.