One hundred million was the population of the USA at the time. The point of the book was that medicines and cosmetics were marketed without having been adequately tested for safety. Although publicists have played the pivotal role in creating the public outrage needed to bring about consumer protection reforms, they have also played an even greater role in helping quackery to flourish. If media people have an ethical code, it is not apparent even when it comes to public health and safety. The media takes no responsibility for the effects of its reporting of questionable health practices.
Reporters know that coverage gives status and credibility to their subjects.
They will publish claims at face value without adequately checking on their veracity. The problem with this thinking is that the public cannot decide without having the information the reporter failed to provide. Not only are the missing facts needed to evaluate the case at hand, but some guidance in the principles involved, and especially how people might be misled by appearances. The result is health misinformation and misguidance done in the disguise of news reporting. The media commonly treats offbeat medicine stories as entertainment.