Page 15 - Pharmacy History 33 November 2007

Book Review
Popular Medicines -
An illustrated history
P G Homan, B Hudson, R C Rowe
Pharmaceutical Press, 2008, 182 pp
This well researched and delightfully illustrated book will appeal to pharmacists, those interested in medical and pharmaceutical history and sections of the community. It demonstrates how entrepreneurs could make a fortune by developing patent medicines, when combined with clever marketing and advertising. In many cases the products could not fulfil the claims made.
The book provides some background as to the vulnerability of the general public to such products prior to
the introduction of national health schemes. In many cases, they had
to resort to buying patent medicines based on advertising, because that
was all they could afford. The owners of these products tried to keep the contents secret. Even publications by the British Medical Association in the 1900’s which provided information on the content’s of these products and the vast profits made had little impact on sales.
Since such products were mainly available from pharmacies this impacted negatively upon the status of pharmacists as health professionals.
The book then traces the history of twenty one of these popular products. This includes their origination, subsequent history, manufacturing and marketing. Most pharmacists who have been practising longer than thirty years will be familiar with many of them. Potions such as Beecham’s Pills, Bile Beans (started in Australia), Carter’s Little Liver Pills, Morison’s Pills, Steedman’s Soothing Powders,
ISBN 978 0 85369 728 2
Woodward’s Gripe Water and Zam-Buk will be familiar to many. Others included in the book will be familiar to some.
It would concern
pharmacists today, that
the formula for Gripe
Water in 1909 was
sodium bicarbonate,
essential oil, alcohol and
sugar. It was claimed
suitable for all disorders
of children which
included convulsions
and whooping cough.
Others had more
potent ingredients;
Steedman’s Soothing
Powders contained
calomel (mercurous
subchloride) and
“Dr J Collis Brown’s
Chlorodyne”
included
significant doses
of chloroform,
ether, alcohol, and morphine. Those becoming habituated to morphine would then take excessive frequent doses of the other ingredients.
This is a most interesting, easily readable contribution to pharmacy history and describes a range of products and practises that had a major impact on the public and pharmacy. Little has changed in some respects as “natural products” seem to have re-kindled the desire in the public for a “magic bullet” and pharmacy is involved in that charade.
Bruce Sunderland
School of Pharmacy
Curtin University of Technology Bentley, Western Australia
Available from The Pharmaceutical Press UK, www.pharmpress.com
UK price £ 32.45, including postage & packing.
volume 4 ■ no 34 ■ February 2008
Pharmacy History Australia ■ 15