There were few alternatives to using opiates to end suffering for dying people. Long ago opium was not considered harmful and was available to everyone. Doctors advised taking opiates to relieve a number of symptoms including diarrhea, cough and pain. In North India it is used as a traditional offering to guests in the form of opium water. Opium has the appearance of dark brown chunks called cakes or bricks or as a powder form.
People take opium in a number of different ways.
At first, opium was taken orally. Smoking opium did not begin until after the discovery of America. Injection of opiates became popular in the mid nineteenth century. The effects were found to be much greater than if it was taken orally. Other opiate analgesics appear in a variety of forms including capsules, tablets, syrups, elixirs, solutions, and suppositories.