Secret remedies : $b What they cost and what they containBritish Medical Association
Science
Secret remedies : $b What they cost and what they contain
British Medical Association
Patent medicines
They have decided to originate a No Cure No Payment
system, and will refund the purchase money to any
patient whose weight is not reduced by from two to six
pounds per month whilst taking Figuroids.... This offer
to refund purchase money is made on the understanding
that the Figuroid Company’s instructions are faithfully
observed and the conditions of their offer complied
with.
The directions on the label were as follows:
Each bottle contains an equal number of full doses
(large tablet) and half doses (small tablet).
Take regularly one full dose (large tablet) dissolved
in plain or soda water within 30 minutes after each of
the first three meals on the first day. Next day take
one half dose (small tablet) dissolved in plain or
soda water within 30 minutes after each of the three
meals. Third day take full doses again; and so continue
alternating.
Although it is here clearly conveyed, without directly making the
statement, that the large and small tablets only differ in being full
doses and half doses respectively, examination showed their composition
to be different, and it was necessary to analyse them separately.
_Large Tablets._
The large tablets had an average weight of 58 grains; analysis showed
them to contain an effervescing mixture of sodium bicarbonate and
tartaric acid, in which the former was in excess, so that the resulting
product was alkaline, together with sodium chloride (common salt),
phenolphthalein, formamine (hexamethylene-tetramine), talc, and gum.
The quantity of each of the ingredients was determined as accurately
as possible, with the results given below; it will be noted that these
quantities add up to 101·4 instead of 100, the reason being that the
whole of the soda is for convenience represented as bicarbonate,
whereas a portion of it had become converted to carbonate by loss of
carbon dioxide.
In One Tablet.
Sodium bicarbonate 62·0 per cent. 38·9 grains.
Tartaric acid 22·6 ” 13·1 ”
Sodium chloride 6·5 ” 3·8 ”
Phenolphthalein 2·0 ” 1·2 ”
Formamine 3·5 ” 2·0 ”
Talc 2·8 ”
Gum about 2·0 ”
Hexamethylene-tetramine or formamine, is perhaps better known by its
trade names—urotropine, cystamin, urisol, etc.; it does not appear to
have been described as of value for obesity.
_Small Tablets._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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