The Great American Fraud: The Patent Medicine EvilAdams, Samuel Hopkins
Science
The Great American Fraud: The Patent Medicine Evil
Adams, Samuel Hopkins
Patent medicines; Quacks and quackery
Piso's Consumption Cure, extensively advertised a year or two ago, is
apparently withdrawing from the field, so far as consumption goes,
and the Pino people are now more modestly promising to cure coughs and
colds. Old analyses give as the contents of Piso's Cure for Consumption
alcohol, chloroform, opium and cannabis indica (hasheesh). In reply
to an inquiry as to whether their remedy contains morphin and cannabis
indica, the Piso Company replies: "Since the year 1872 Piso's Cure has
contained no morphin or anything derived from opium." The question as to
cannabis indica is not answered. Analysis shows that the "cure" contains
chloroform, alcohol and apparently cannabis indica. It is, therefore,
another of the {053}remedies which can not possibly cure consumption,
but, on the contrary, tend by their poisonous and debilitating drugs to
undermine the victim's stamina.
Peruna, Liquozone, Duffy's Malt Whiskey, Pierce's Golden Medical
Discovery and the other "blanket" cures include tuberculosis in their
lists, claiming great numbers of well-authenticated cures. From the
imposing book published by the R. V. Pierce Company, of Buffalo, I took
a number of testimonials for investigation; not a large number, for I
found the consumption testimonial rather scarce. From fifteen letters I
got results in nine cases. Seven of the letters were returned to me
marked "unclaimed," of which one was marked "Name not in the dictory,"
another "No such postoffice in the state" and a third "Deceased." The
eighth man wrote that the Golden Medical Discovery had cured his cough
and blood-spitting, adding: "It is the best lung medisan I ever used for
lung trubble." The last man said he took twenty-five bottles and was
cured! Two out of nine seems to me a suspiciously small percentage of
traceable recoveries. Much stress has been laid by the Proprietary
Association of America through its press committee on the suit brought
by R. V. Pierce against the Ladies' Home Journal, the implication being
(although the suit has not yet been tried) that a reckless libeler of a
noble and worthy business has been suitably punished. In the full
appreciation of Dr. Pierce's attitude in the matter of libel, I wish to
state that in so far as its claim of curing consumption is concerned his
Golden Medical Discovery is an unqualified fraud.
[IMAGE ==>] {053}
One might suppose that the quacks would stop short of trying to deceive
the medical profession in this matter, yet the "consumption cure" may
be found disporting itself in the pages of the medical journals. For
instance, I find this advertisement in several professional magazines:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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