New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-09-16
RAID ON IMPURE DRUGS
Continued from f,rst page.


comes operative. practically every wholesale
druggist doirg business I'm this city viii have
al their goods properly labelled. The labels
Will alsoontain a guarantee Of the contents. the
cate OF manufacture and an agreement 10 ex-
change the old goods for fresh ones. The form
which schieffelin & Co intend to use reads:
NAME OF DRUGD
Assayed and standardized TO official strength
Nhen follows date Of manufacture. In view ~
position Of the active principals in the preparation
II IS advisable that 10 be used within twelve mont Ms
flesh lot If returned unopened within twelve
In some cases the agreement to exchange will
read six months instead Of twelve, according
70 the liability Of the preparation 10 lose
strength quicker than other preparations
As whole the drug trade welcomes the cru
sado Of the Department Of Health. AS DIT.
Schieffelin said yesterday: For years honest
houses have been competing against men who
have no scruples Reputable firms will now
have their proper chance" He further said:
There is no doubt that many inferior and
adu!terated drugs have been put upon the New
York market. sometimes Intentionally often
times unintentonally. and the blame should be
placed upon those who created the demand as
well as upon those who supplied the goods For
example man who will buy a powdered drug
al n lower price a pound than the crude drug
costs is willing accomplish TO a fraud.
Some Of the extracts Of drugs which the Board
oi Health reported below standard We're rouho 10
have been Of proper strength when made. but
the active principle had deteTiOTated. This led
10 the suggestion. which has been approved anu
adopted by the manufacturers. that dated label
be placed upon all such extracts and that they
be SOLD in small containers. so that the druggist
can constantly have fresh supply.
The federal law viii require that the drugs
and medicines must state their strength cor
rectIy on their labels and as the wholesale
druggist will have 10 guarantee the goods ne
sells 20 the retailer, the wholesalers are re-
curing that the manufacturers furnish to them
guarantees THAI their products comply with the
law.
otto L Amend. Of Elmer & Amend. was also
glad. he put IT, that this thing has come
about" But" said Mr.. Amend 1T is not only
the druggists who deserve the blame. Much Of
may properly be placed upon doctors ard moro
upon the public There IS perfect craze 20 get
cheap things I'm the matter of medicines as we'll
I'm other goods. The consequence is that men
without consciences adulterate their products
and are thus able 10 underbid those who stick to
legitimate trading"
CUSTOMERS To BLAME.
Mr. Amend told Of a man who asked at his
store 10 have a prescription made up In which
tincture Of musk entered largely. The tincture
IS very expensive and the price made to the Gus
toner was 30. why. So-and-So says he
wifi make Il up for 81 75," said the man I'll
give you the money II you will buy from him
quantity Of musk" said Mr. Amend His Gus
toner accepted the offer. with the result that
when the musk was analysed IL was shown TO
consist Of about 70 per cent ground leather
which was Of the same color as the musk parti-
cles: about 10 per cent Of musk and the rest
sand earth.
Speaking OF the results obtained by the De-
partment OF Health chemists, Mr. Amend said
that some OF the tests required by the Pharma-
cop9ia We're impossible. Il told this TO Professor
T1nHgfa 81 H1T.
him that II was perfectly possible to get different
assays from the same drug. He agreed that
This was So Mr.. Amend was not disposed 10
question the general results obtained. but, like
other druggists who We're seen, he declared that
a distinction must be made between those firms
which deliberately committed frauds and those
which put out their goods properly standardized,
the goods deteriorsting IN time from natural
causes.
\ great evil is the craze for what he described
as pretty preparations" Doctors prefer To
prescribe tablets and pills that look and taste
nice, instead OF the pure drug. Tablets. pills
and capsules do not hold the strength Of the
drug ne declared, and usually the Preparation
deteriOrates very RAPIDLY.
Those drugs on which the time label will be
used viii probably be belladonna. digftaIis ipe-
Sac. aconite, stramonium, scOpOla. cOlchicum,
hyoscyamus, coca. sweet spirits OF nitre and
nitro-glycerine.
STATE BOARD ACTS
Aroused out Of its state Of lethargy by the
vigorous action of the Department OF Health II
was learned yesterday that the state Pharmacy
Board had begun one Of its occasional crusades.
Some thirty prosecutions for the sale OF impure
drugs, mostly borax and cream OF tartar, have
been begun. and more are 10 follow. II is de-
Clared
IL was also learned that. in all probability the
department of Health viii incorporate in the
Sanitary Code the provisions of the new Pure
Food law. Az matter Of fact, many OF the
provisions OF the new law were taken from the
code, but those which not a part of il
will also be included Under This Law &c
a misdemeanor punishable by a fine Of 500 or a
years imprisonment. or both TO manufacture,
sell or offer for sale, adulterated or misbTanded
drugs. The law hits hard at patent medicines
when n provides that every package shall bear
on the label q statement of the quantity or
proportion Of any alcohol, morphine opium, CO.
csine. heroin, alpha or beta eucaine chloroforu.
Cannabis indiCa, choral hydrate or acetanide.
or any derivation 9r preparation Of any such
substances contained therein, many of the more
popular VIGOROUSLY containing a large amount Of
a. least the four first named