Evening star., 1937-11-26
F0ODANDDRUGACT
TIGHTENING ASKED
IN WALLACE STUDY
Drastic. Strengthening Is
Urged to Bar Repetition
Of "EIixir" Tragedy.
CRIMINAL PROSECUTION
PLANNED FOR MAKER
Present Law Inadequate, Secre.
tary Says in Report to Congress,
to End Such Cases.

tary says In Report to Congress,
to End Such Cases.
Drastic strengthening of the Food
and Drug Act to prevent recurrence
Of such tragedy as the recent deaths
Of 73 persons from elixir sulfanila.,
mide" was recommended to Congress
today by Secretary of Agriculture Wal
lace.
Secretary wallace said citations al
ready were being prepared calling on
the manufacturer, the S. E. Massengill
20. OF Bristol, Tenn, to show cause
why Its officers should not be prose-
cuted criminally in the Federal courts
The report OF the Department OF
Agriculture was in reply to a request
IN Senate and House resolutions for
information concerning the elixir"
deaths.
The present law was declared to be
inadequate to protect purchasers from
such medicines. The only basis on
which action could be taken against
the Massengill concern, it was said,
was the contention that the word elixir
implies an alcoholic content, whereas
the product was diethylene glycol
solution" The report added:
"The fact that the law contains no
= specific definition Of elixir may be re-
sponsible for DR.. Massengill's state
ment in his letter to the American
Medical Association, I have violated
no law"
To protect the public from danger
Gus drugs, Secretary Wallace recon-
n1ended license control Of new drugs
to insure they will not be generally
distributed until experimental and
clinical tests have shown them to be
safe for use.
Even Plumbers Licensed.
He pointed out that physicians,
druggists, even plumbers were licensed,
but there is no such control to pre-
vent incompetent drug manufacturers
from marketing any kind Of lethal
potion"
Proposed legislation would prohibit
marketing of drugs dangerous to
health when administered in accord
Ance with the manufacturer direc-
tions. Druggists would be required to
afix labels bearing adequate directions
and warnings against probable misuse.
Secret remedies would be banned
entirely. Chemical manufacturers
would be required to disclose on labels
the exact composition Of each drug.
The report added:
Many poisoning cases result from
choice Of the wrong bottle from the
home medicine cabinet or from bottles
left within the reach of small chill
dren. In such cases, attending physi-
clans are able to proceed intelligently
and administer the proper antidotes
or other treatment only If labels carry
full disclosure of composition. Delays
in obtaining this information by COM
municating with the manufacturer
may often mean the difference between
life and death"
The Agriculture Department found
- deaths definitely due to the "elixir"
and 20 others in which the prepara-
ton had been taken, but which had not
yet been traced solely to the drug. The
fatalities occurred in Is States during
September and October.
Tested for Flavor!
Before the elixir was put on the
market" the report said, lit was test
e for flavor, but not for its effect on
human life. The existing Food and
Drug Act does not require that new
drugs be tested before they are placed
on sale"
= The department found the lethal
effect of the elixir" was due to its
content Of diethylene glycol, used as
a solvent. and not to sulfanilamide,
which Itself is valuable drug, and
not responsible for the disaster"
Practically the entire field force Of
food and drug inspectors and chemists
was assigned to the task of rounding
up the elixir" and taking it off the
market. Learning Of the fatal effects,
the manufacturer, it was conceded,
sent kilograms to all agents asking
that the preparation be withdrawn
and returned. but did not explain the
hfe-and-death nature of the order
until on or about October 10.
When an investigator for the Food
and Drug Administration wired from
Tulsa, Okla, that nine persons had
died there, seizure of all elixir" was
ordered.
OF $40 gallons manufactured, 22s
SALONS and 2 pints have been seized
Hmder Federal or State laws, destroyed,
collected as laboratory samples or
wasted by spilling and breakage.
Eleven gallons were dispensed About
half Of this was consumed, and the
rest retrieved. Virtually all the elixir
has been accounted. for, although small
quantities sold at drug stores without
nreRcrintinn NAV still ha o,yt