Nostrums and quackery : articles on the nostrum evil and quackery reprinted from the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Date:
[1911]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Nostrums and quackery : articles on the nostrum evil and quackery reprinted from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    118/522 (page 114)
    of sulphuric acid, wine, fortified by alcohol, and water, in approximately the following quantities; Alcohol (absolute) 44 per cent. Sulphuric acid (Il2SOi) 4 per cent. Water 52 per cent. MISBRANDED UNDER THE LAW From this it appears that at least some specimens of this nostrum are misbranded under the Food and Drugs Act in that it contains over 40 per cent, of alcohol while admitting on the label the presence of only 14 per cent. The directions state that 5 drops should be taken in water three times a day and this is increased up to 15 or 17 drops within a week or so. As a five-dollar bottle of the stuff only holds two ounces it is evident that the so-called “montlfis treatment” really amounts only to a little more than two week’s treat- ment. The viciousness of the traffic in health and even life in which the exploiters of “consumption cures” are engaged, has time and again been referred to in these pages. Yet to the physician the facts are as old as his practice. He knows the tragedy of hope deferred and precious time wasted in the cases of the poor dupes who fall into the clutches of these <Thouls. He knows, as none other than the victim himself knows, how difficult it is to get the eonsumptive to live the only life that holds out hope for him. It is almost impossible to convince the layman suffering from tuberculosis that there is no specific drug remedy for his ailment. Add to this inbred belief the specious claims and honeyed lies of the quack and the temptation to squander money on the worse than worthless nostrums becomes well-nigh irresistible. The consumptive must be protected against himself and against those moral outcasts who would batten on the despair and weakness of the mortally ill. There is but one Avay to do this effectively and that is for physicians to enlighten the public on the possibilities and the limitations of modern therapeutics. When this has been thoroughly done mail- order medicine concerns will cease to exist, because then every intelligent lay jury would take the attitude that they are fraudulent—an attitude which at present, unfortunately, is by no means universal. {From The Journal 1. M, A., Aur/. C, 1010.) A Letter About a Victim Shortly after ])ublishing the pi’cceding article on Lung Ger- inine the following letter was received; Jo the Editor: T was much interested in the article on “Lung Germine” fliat api)eared in The Journal, Aug, 6, 1910. Jhvo years ago, when I was at Adell, Ads., a youug man. aged 2C), came to my office complaining of “lung troul)le.” Ills temperature was 103 F., pulse 120, a])])etite .])Oor and lie liad lost weight in about eight weeks from 170 to 130 [lounds.