PATENT MEDICINES, COUGH SIRUPS 257 



tention one finds one's self bound to the drug, its fast victim. 

 The sanatoria of our country are crowded with people who 

 are trying to free themselves of a drug habit into which they 

 have drifted unintentionally if not altogether unknowingly. 

 What is true of opium is equally applicable to other narcotics. 



239. The Right Use of Narcotics. In the hands of the 

 physician, narcotics are a great blessing. In some cases, by 

 relieving pain, they give the system the rest necessary for 

 overcoming the cause of the pain. Only those who know of 

 the suffering endured in former times can fully appreciate the 

 decrease in pain brought about by the proper use of narcotics. 



240. Patent Medicines, Cough Sirups. A reputable physician 

 is solicitous regarding the permanent welfare of his patient 

 and administers carefully chosen and harmless drugs. Mere 

 medicine venders, however, ignore the good of mankind, 

 and flood the market with cheap patent preparations which 

 delude and injure those who purchase, but bring millions of 

 dollars to those who manufacture. 



Practically all of these patent, or proprietary, preparations 

 contain a large proportion of narcotics or stimulants, and hence 

 the benefit which they seem to afford the user is by no means 

 genuine ; examination shows that the relief brought by them is 

 due either to a temporary deadening of sensibilities by narcotics 

 or to a fleeting stimulation by alcohol and kindred substances. 



Among the most common ailments of both young and old 

 are coughs and colds; hence many patent cough mixtures 

 have been manufactured and placed on the market for the 

 consumption of a credulous public. Such "quick cures" 

 almost invariably contain one or more narcotic drugs, and 

 not only do not relieve the cold permanently, but occasion 

 subsequent disorders. Even lozenges and pastilles are not 

 free from fraud, but have a goodly proportion of narcotics, 

 containing in some cases chloroform, morphine, and ether. 

 CL. GEN. sci. 1 7 



