The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-25
HEADACHE CURES.
THEY ALARM HEALTH AUTHOR
 TIES IN BROOKLYN.
Many of the Cures Depress the
 Heart and Cause Serious Troubles.

Brooklyn Eagle
 Headache Hcures' of the patent sort have become such a dangerous menace to life and health that the Department of Health is preparing to take action 10 suppress. or at least to restrict. tneir sale. This statement was made yester- day by Dr. Ernest J. Lederle. the com missioner of that Department, who pro poses to act with energy on complaints made to him by many physicians that sudden increase in the use of certain kinds of these prepared remedies IS en- dangering the public health.
 These complaints have followed the > course of d headache epidemic that mas attracted the notice of the doctors. not only in Brooklyn, but in Manhattan. and the suburbs since early in March. Bad weather. with cold winds and too much moisture. Is the cause to which this wide prevalence of headache is attributed: al though disorders of the stomach, rom which headache often arises, have been unusually common at the same time. "A curious result has been the extraordinary consumption of headache cures or all sorts some of which are harmless ana even beneficial but many of which are eitLetI worthless or exceedingly danger uus,F , fihere is no legal system of regulation Aor the sale of these remedies. The use @ even the best of them is often abused ats the risk of life.
 Some of them were the subject of in vestigation by the Bureau of Chemistry
  facts were demonstrated which appear to justify the interference of this depart ment. Any action that may be taken, however, must be under the general pow er of the department to protect pubic health. as no law especially constructed to fit thei case. that l am aware or mas ever been tenacted. It Is unfortunate that there is no such law. Every physician of experience knows that infinite harm is constantly done by spurious concoc;, tions of this kind which are brought ana sold entirely without restriction. Equal harm perhaps, is done sy the misuse or remedies that would be all right II prop erly prescribed.
 For all of the ordinary ills Of the flesh there are many such remedies so called, on sale everywhere Their ingre- ,iients are often just what physician would prescribe for the illness or indis- pnsjtion they are claimed to cure, but the printed directions for their use don always fit the case of the patient and any deviation may be a very dangerous matter. There is no method of regulation for the use of any medicine. whether 1t Is d staple drug or d patented mixture, that Is so safe as the prescription of a physician. of course, prescriptions cost more. The patented remedy will always he in demand But its use should be sharply regulated /by some competent medical auth ority, acting with very>broad and specific powers under the law.
 Dr. Ledderle was formerly Chief Of tho Bureau of Chemistry in the Department If which he Is TOW the head. He said yesterday that he would take up the matter with pr. Joseph A. De Ghuee' th. present head of the bureau. at once, and examine thoroughly into the powers of the Department. The Bureau of Chem lstry can expose fraudulent cures and an weight with the drug trade from a mora point of view. if not of any actual legal forge.
 TarFs with the druggists develop the fact that they will be very generally Tn sympathy with any effort to annihllata the abuses complained of. They agree with the physicians that the use of head ache cures is very rapidly increasing ana that the effect of these cures Is often dangerous. There are few druggists who have not witnessed the growth of the headache cure habit from small begin nings to the proportions of craze. Many of them have prepared stock remeoles 9i Physicians usually regard these prepara' lions of their home druggists as among the Harmless ones. believing In the re sponsibility and caution ol the aru3ggist; a; What they object to is the concoction oi the charlatan who uses stimulative ol sedative ingredients that may In great many cases seriously injure the health.
 Persons with weak hearts are the easi' est victims of the latter kind or cures Nearly all of such cures contain large percentages of the coal tar product ace taniIid a drug all but deadly to people with weak hearts. IT II IS hot sp'i iiS'S and cautiously administered. Sometime, t is combined with a heart stimulant Sucl as caffelu. in which case it is less dan gerous. but even in such combinations II Is to be used with great care. me ma .jority of persons who arc subject | headache pay little attention to the direc' tions for using the remedy. If the mai adv yield with a single dose. no harm Il recognized. But if it happens 10 pc d per per eistent headache the doses are augInente' and repeated uniI the danger point reached To illustrate this druggist yes terday related he following lnclaeht' o years of age. who trades here. was vis ted by the medical examiner of a ht'