The Taney County republican., 1907-09-26
PROPRIETARY REMEDIES VS..
PHYSICIANS PRESCRIPTIONS
Statistics Show, OF the Deaths from
Misuse CT Drugs in Two Years, Only
Three Per Cent. Were Due to Patent
Medicines, According TO Figures
Based on Medical Certificates.

The press committee of the PrOprie-
tary Association OF America viii pre-.
sent at the ne-:t meeting OF that body
a report showing the number of acct.
dental deaths caused by patent mcdi-
cines in the two years ending June 80.
1907. as compared with deaths from
other causes.
Almost Immediately after the begin.
ming OF the latest crusade against
proprietary medicines this committee
was instructed TO collect data. This
work was done through the clipping
bureaus, which furnished accounts Of
all deaths, exclusive of suicide. due to
the misuse of medicines, drugs or
poisons. The result showed that only
three per cent, could be traced di.
rectly to the products made by the
members of the association.
The greatest care is said to have
been exercised in tabulating the fig.
ures received. Whenever the cause
of death was doubtful. special inves-
tigation was made no matter where
the case might have occurred The
work Of asserting and preparing the
record was done In Chicago, and the
original clippings and correspondence
are In the possession Of Erwin +.
Kemp, 1S4 La Sale street, that city,
the associations publicity agent. The
report says, in part;
"A large number of accidents, re.
sulting fatally or otherwise, were
caused by the carelessness of persons
who left drugs, medicines or poisons
within the reach of children. A large
number, also, were caused by persons
going TO medicine cabinets in the dark
and taking down the wrong bottle.
In no case reported was any medicine
patent or otherwise, held responsible
for injury or death except when left
ithin the reach of children or taken
or administered in gross overdose
The committee says that II is I'M
likely that any cases of death from
the use of patent medicine escaped
the newspapers, but that it is prob.
able that death from the causes tahu.
lated did occur without receiving pub.
licity. Physicians, of course, report
the causes of death. The committee
says that they would be the last to
suppress the cause If due to the use
of medicine not regularly prescribed.
a rccapitulation of the committees
findings show 1926 cases of poisoning,
of which 1853 We're fatal. The great.
est number of cases. 1886, with SJS
deaths, is attributed to mediciarg
other than proprietary remedies.
There are on the list 90 cases OF sick.
ness and i3 deaths due 10 patent mcGi-
cineE.
! Analy2ing its statistics. the commit
tee finds POI cases Of sickness. With
1i3 deaths, due to strychninc tablets.
which are among physicians rayoritc
remedies and are often left wit! in ,he
reach of children.
/ Under the head of miscellaneous
prescriptions arc grouped Al cases
where, the report says, it has been i'm
possible after diligcnt inquiry to as
certain the name or the character of
the drug or medicine which caused in.
jury or death, beyond the fact that
the medicine or drug was prescribed
by a physician. OF these cases IS
were fatal. The committee says:
| Under the head of All Patent
Medicines are grouped all those rem
edies which are recognized as patent
medicines and which are advertised
direct to the public for internal use.
Competent authorities say that at
least one-half of the medicines taken
In the United States are Of the kind
known as patent medicine and yet
In two years among SO,0O0.000 people
there have been but ninety cases
tforty-three fataD that have been re-
ported in the newspapers from the
use or misuse Of these remedies"
Not in single fully substantiated
case is 1t ever charged that any pat.
ent medicine in recommended doses
was Injurious. In this connection il
should be understood that in making
death certificates and In reporting
cases of injury to the newspapers
from which these cases were secured.
a physician had the final word, and
in this connection is there any prob.
ability that the doctor will hide his
own carelessness or neglect or that of
n fellow practitioner whose support
he may want at some time. and is
there even a possibility that he might;
hide any responsibility that could be-
thrown at a patent medicine? Ask
yourself these questions. Then when
you have found the answer, consider
that during all this most thorough
and careful investigation covering a
period Of two years, in not single
established case was It shown that
patent medicine in recommended
doses was injurious.
The most remarkable case reported
was that Of an Italian laborer in New
York who suffered from pains in the
chest. A physician ordered a porous
plaster which the patient ate, with
fatal results.
Would Run No Risk.
Darling" said the young man as ht