The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 2 of 2Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry (American Medical Association)
Science
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 2 of 2
Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry (American Medical Association)
Patent medicines
Feeling confident that this meets with the endorsement of the
profession, the Council is examining more critically the evidence for
the value of pharmaceutical mixtures.--(_From The Journal A. M. A., May
10, 1919._)
“ACCEPTED BY THE COUNCIL ON PHARMACY AND CHEMISTRY”
Under the caption given above, the _Journal of the Missouri State
Medical Association_, in its July issue, speaks editorially as follows:
The Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry of the American Medical
Association is a department of our national organization that has
not received the plaudits and encomiums of a wildly joyous medical
profession nor the grateful praises of the enthusiastic manufacturer
of pharmaceuticals. The Council seems indeed to be the unloved child
of the entire family of subsidiary bodies of the association. Perhaps
the reason for this may be found in the character of its duties, for
the Council must expose fraud, sometimes in high places, and protect
the physician from being duped by avaricious persons and by persons
who are themselves sometimes the victims of their own credulity. It
thus happens that the sale of some proprietary article previously held
in high esteem by the practitioner proves valueless, perhaps even
fraudulent. The practitioner, however, may have credited much of his
success in treating certain conditions to that preparation and the
maker has had success in accumulating dollars from its sale and both
parties emit a loud and vicious roar against the Council, because
they both lose money. Nobody wants to be “protected” against making
money--make it honestly, if possible, but make it--but this black sheep
among the Councils of the American Medical Association insists on their
making their money honestly!
Despite many obstacles thrown into its path, the Council on Pharmacy
and Chemistry has serenely pursued its allotted tasks, corrected
its mistakes, improved its methods, and today stands as the only
medium to which the honest physician may turn for information--not
misinformation--regarding proprietary articles. During the war the
Council and the chemical laboratory were in close cooperation with
the Surgeon-General’s Office, testing and investigating every article
offered to the government for the treatment of sick soldiers. The
variety and the number of fakish and fraudulent stuff offered to the
Surgeon-General was a pitiable exhibit of the mental gymnastics of
some people. Just now the Council and the laboratory have a new and
important field before them, i. e., to protect the physicians against
worthless and useless serums, vaccines and synthetics. It will be the
Council’s unpleasant duty to expose the fraudulent and useless among
these articles and stamp truth on those found worthy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account