COUGH SIRUPS 193 



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 body necessary rest. 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. 



Patent medicines, cough sirups. A physician regards the 

 permanent welfare of his patient and administers carefully 

 chosen and harmless drugs. Mere medicine venders ignore the 

 good of mankind, and flood the market with cheap patent 

 preparations which injure the purchaser, but bring millions of 

 dollars to the manufacturer. Practically all patent, or proprie- 

 tary preparations contain a large proportion of narcotics or 

 stimulants. 



Among the most common ailments of both young and old 

 are coughs and colds; and many patent cough mixtures are on 

 the market. Such " quick cures " almost invariably contain 

 one or more narcotic drugs. They do not relieve the cold 

 permanently, but do occasion subsequent disorders. Even 

 lozenges and pastilles are not free from fraud, but have a goodly 

 proportion of narcotics, containing in some cases chloroform 

 and morphine. 



The widespread use of patent cough medicines is due largely 

 to the fact that many persons avoid consulting a physician 

 about so trivial an ailment as an ordinary cold, and attempt 

 to doctor themselves. 



Catarrh is a very prevalent disease in America, and numerous 

 catarrh remedies have been devised, most of which contain the 

 harmful drug, cocaine. Laws have been enacted which require 

 on the labels a statement of the drugs used and the amounts. 

 But the great mass of people are ignorant of the harmful nature 

 of certain drugs and do not even read the label, or if they do 

 glance at it, fail to comprehend the dangerous nature of the 

 drugs specified. In order to safeguard the uninformed pur- 



