AmMaJrh?iP9i4m-}         Sale  of  Bichloride  Tablets.  127 
procured,  and  are  used  to  a  very  large  extent  as  a  home  remedy, 
hence  they  are  not  looked  upon  as  the  dangerous  agents  that  they 
really  are  in  the  hands  of  the  careless  and  ignorant." 
Among  the  many  suggestions  that  have  been  made  to  compel 
uniformity  in  shape  and  size  of  tablets  of  corrosive  mercuric  chloride, 
we  have  proposals  to  have  them  triangular,  coffin-shaped,  kidney- 
shaped,  and  in  the  shape  of  a  skull,  in  addition  to  the  various  forms 
already  in  use.  Suggestions  have  also  been  made  to  enact  laws  to 
compel  manufacturers  to  color  these  tablets  red,  green,  blue,  yellow, 
and  pink;  also  to  give  them  a  distinctive  odor,  and  to  compel  their 
being  dispensed  in  a  uniform  and  distinctively  shaped  bottle ;  all  of 
which,  if  it  were  practicable  to  enforce  uniformity  in  all  States  and 
with  all  manufacturers,  would  at  best  tend  to  elaborate  on  the 
misuse  of  tablets  of  this  kind,  rather  than  to  prevent  accident,  or 
their  use  as  a  poison  for  suicidal  purposes. 
Even  at  the  present  time  there  is  sufficient  legislation,  if  en- 
forced, to  serve  as  a  reasonable  safeguard  in  connection  with  the 
sale  of  corrosive  mercuric  chloride  at  retail.  No  less  than  38  States 
include  corrosive  sublimate  specifically  in  the  laws  designed  to  restrict 
the  sale  of  poisons,  and  in  but  one  of  the  existing  laws,  that  of  Utah, 
are  corrosive  sublimate  tablets  exempted  from  registration  in  the 
poison  register,  otherwise  uniformly  required  for  the  sale  of  cor- 
rosive sublimate  itself.  During  the  present  year,  three  States, 
Oregon,  Nevada,  and  California,  have  enacted  modified  poison  laws 
and  specifically  enumerate  tablets  of  corrosive  sublimate  as  belong- 
ing in  "  Schedule  A,"  drugs,  the  sale  of  which  is  required  to  be 
registered  in  a  book  provided  for  that  purpose.  These  several  States 
also  specifically  enumerate  "  antiseptic  tablets  containing  corrosive 
sublimate,"  being,  so  far,  the  only  States  recognizing  the  present-day 
custom  of  labelling  these  very  toxic  preparations,  "  antiseptic 
tablets." 
In  addition  to  specific  agitation  for  the  proper  labelling  of  all 
preparations  containing  poisonous  substances,  the  most  promising 
innovation  is  the  suggestion  that  a  type  form  of  corrosive  mercuric 
chloride  tablet  or  pastille  be  introduced  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the 
United  States,  with  a  view  of  providing  adequate  safeguards  to  pre- 
vent accidental  poisonings.  While  the  suggestions  that  have  been 
made  for  this  purpose  are  many  and  varied,  it  would  appear  that, 
in  view  of  the  rapidly  growing  intercourse  between  the  different 
countries  of  the  world,  it  might  be  desirable  to  secure  international 
uniformity  in  regard  to  preparations  of  this  type.    It  has  been  pro- 
