Comments

1. Posted by Charles Schmitter on 12/6/09

   Miles’ Nervine contained Bromide as the sedating agent

2. Posted by Cuyler Brooks on 12/6/09

   Wonderful collection. I remember when toothpaste contained chloroform (it was there for the “tingle”) and worse was in lead tubes.

   Some of these products seem to contain very small amounts of what are now thought to be dangerous drugs – I doubt anyone was harmed by 4 minims of chloroform. Current NyQuil has 10% alcohol and a Hydro-Bromide – never did me any harm. I felt much worse from one Elavil=amytriptyline; and 1 “Norco” that a dentist gave me created the sensation of my scalp being stabbed with knitting needles.

3. Posted by Chris Gardiner on 13/6/09

   My mother had a beer recipe book that required a wad of asbestos wool to filter the beer.
   Around 1960
   I am still alive!

4. Posted by zashi on 13/6/09

   @Chris Gardiner
   You didn’t drink beer then smartypants… or you are totally photoshoped :))

5. Posted by johannes on 13/6/09

   vibrators originally were a medical treatment against “hysteria”..!

6. Posted by Warren Goff on 13/6/09

   Those “cigarettes” were atropine and not tobacco. They work the same way that present day asthma inhalers like Atrovent, work.

7. Posted by Ann Ferguson on 13/6/09

   Hey, I think most of these old meds are probably safer for you than the industrial pollution, emissions from nuclear plants and pesticides sprayed on most of our veggies sold at supermarkets these days!

8. Posted by Mia on 14/6/09

   Since “Dr. Ham’s Aromatic Invigorator” is advertised as a cure for delirium tremens (symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol) and “intemperance” (which I take to mean an inability to abstain from drinking alcohol, I would guess that the primary ingredient of Dr. Ham’s Invigorator was, in fact, alcohol!

   The pain extractor and pain annihilator (wonderful terminology) probably contained some kind of opiate — maybe laudanum, which is an alcohol tincture of opium. It certainly would relieve pain, for a time albeit not, alas, permanently.

9. Posted by Ed Burgstahler on 14/6/09

   The goverment should legalize all drugs but it won’t happen because it would hurt their corner of the economy. It would be safer, controlled, taxed and some of the inocent people being used and killed would be lessened.

10. Posted by nate on 14/6/09

    no wonder the elderly don’t remember having aches and pains, hell I’m surprised they can remember their own names

11. Posted by andrei on 14/6/09

    This is not a right time for legalization of the illegal. There’s nothing that can be done once you or me or someone [anybody, at the beginning of time] realizes that something does something [from purely aesthetic value to pain relief and even spiritual experiences] to one who looks at it, touches it, smells it, ingests it or smokes it or even shoots it [well this part i usually omit in my speach]. The next step is they come up with a name. Usually it’s something easy to remember because you’re stoned or high or psy. Then they share it with their friends, share opinions etc etc [eventually build up entire cultures supporting it]. Then, someone else fins it too and has a different opinnion and it’s all gone to hell, because what they think of it and then subsequently tell other people about it will probably influence your actions/routines/habits/religion maybe? Then why the fuck realize in the first place?

12. Posted by Scott Gallagher on 14/6/09

    wow, amazing. I bet it’s true that the chemicals we use on our food now, not like back then, is equally, or more harmful that these products for medicinal use.

13. Posted by Gustavo on 15/6/09

    Very good, a blog from the pharmaceutical point of view. I am Gustavo from Brazil, and I will add you to the links on my blog.

14. Posted by -rage on 15/6/09

    I was born during the wrong era!

15. Posted by Edos on 15/6/09

    Damm right ^^

16. Posted by djinni on 16/6/09

    I remember a stomach ache remedy we drank as kids, chemodene or something, used to contains small amount of opiates. Really took any kind of stomach cramp away!

17. Posted by linda on 17/6/09

    I remember when…but those days were before my time.

18. Posted by Cephalopod on 19/6/09

    I’ll take them all!
    Simultaneously!!!

19. Posted by Marjorie on 19/6/09

    I agree that drugs should be legalized. Look at the Netherlands, most drugs there are legal and controlled. There are fewer junkies and actually less substance use in general. The junkies that are there go to doctors who give them sanitary injections of their drugs. This means that they aren’t on the street and are not spreading blood diseases. It also cuts down on the amount of drugs they can take. All in all it is a very good system, but most likely will never be implemented in the United States.

20. Posted by Tiggy on 19/6/09

    It’s true, Coca-Cola doesn’t taste like it used to. Maybe Coke should bring back a limited edition centenary drink?

21. Posted by rob on 19/6/09

    Yes, we ingest a lot chemicals in our food… but at least we don’t die from smallpox.

22. Posted by Goochie on 19/6/09

    After having worked for The Coca-Cola Co. for 25 years, I can assure you that it NEVER started out “as a ‘coca wine’(see above) mix of wine and cocaine.” Dr. John Pemberton, an Atlanta, GA pharmacist, developed Coca-Cola syrup in 1886, in a 3-legged brass kettle in his backyard. The name of the syrup – of which the two main ingredients were the coca leaf and the cola nut – was suggested by his bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, the man whose penmanship was so fine that he scripted what is now the most recognized logo in the world. Mixed at a ratio of 1 ounce of syrup to 5 ounces of seltzer water (the same ratio used today), the soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886. A careful look at the first poster for Coca-Cola above will show that the advertisement suggests that one go the nearest fountain (as in “soda” fountain…not a bar!)for the refreshing beverage.

23. Posted by Jason on 19/6/09

    Twenty years from now Amalgam fillings and thymersol will be on a web site / listing like this.

24. Posted by John on 20/6/09

    I’ve heard it said, that the above advertised, Pantopon Roche Injectable Opium…

    Made men wear their hats at jaunty angles

25. Posted by anon on 20/6/09

    Interesting ads and history all the way around. I can’t help but notice that back in those days, someone with an injury or illness was likely to obtain access to better pain control methods than they can today. That probably cut down on disability claims considerably, but I would bet that despite the easy availability of these powerful drugs addictive populations were not much greater, perhaps even less so, than they are today (anyone who has the exact sociology on this question, feel free to jump in here).

    Modern regulations governing narcotics have not stopped addicts from obtaining anything they want off the streets or from illegitimate “clinics”, whereas people who truly suffer chronic pain are commonly allowed to continue in a greater level of pain than appears likely 100 years ago (if not for much of human history). Because narcotics were poorly regulated 50+ years ago in the US, millions of chronic pain sufferers today are essentially pushed toward risky surgery and/or a decision to give up their careers and everything that constituted a “life”. This strikes me as an over-correction for the mistakes of doctors and druggists of prior generations. Isn’t it about time for the pendulum to swing back toward the middle? Here we have SSI and disability rates, workers’ compensation — skyrocketing costs associated with people who are disabled by unrelenting pain conditions. Animals in laboratory settings receive more humane pain control treatments under most circumstances than do humans! This trend persists even though we know that addiction is a psychological risk factor more so than a physiological one (i.e. “addictive personality”). Doctors are trained to fear treating patients even when all objective evidence would seem to justify an approach that would enable a patient to return to a productive life. For their own reasons, doctors watch their own backs and their patients must “make do”, often transferring the resulting physical and financial burdens to family members and taxpayers alike.

    It’s time the medical community stopped demonizing pain treatments. It goes without saying that such powerful drugs should not have been in every tonic or quack cure. On the other hand, they should not be reserved only for the terminally ill, either. As a great percentage of the population ages, doctors need to be prepared to treat patients — not merely placate them with ineffective but expensive brand-name drugs that do little to improve quantitative quality of life measures.

26. Posted by anon on 20/6/09

    That comment above me? Made of win.

27. Posted by Sasha on 21/6/09

    Perhaps our descendants will look at us in the past and laugh at us. They might say we took a host of poisonous substances like alcohol, tobacco and hydrogenated fat… they’ll giggle at our hopes that cosmetics and rejuvenating products ever did work, and will speak of the inefficiency of pharmaceutics :)
    They will be laughed at too, if there’s anybody to laugh left…

28. Posted by Eli on 22/6/09

    Those folks here who advocate elimination of government control over drug marketing should recall the reasons the laws were passed in the first place. OTC sales of drugs with opium, cocaine, morphine and high alcohol content were creating a nation of addicts. When Bayer introduced Heroin, it was marketed as a non-addictive substitute for opiates. Do we really want to see parents treating their children with unregulated narcotics? Want some peace and quiet this evening? Just give the kids some morphine with their dessert, and they’ll quiet right down. Teething troubles? Nothing like a little Heroin to ease their pain. I’ll agree that the drug industry has problems of its own, but the last thing we need is unregulated commerce in addictive drugs.

29. Posted by whiskeytits on 23/6/09

    “Dr. Ham’s Aromatic Invigorator”?

    Hint: It’s bacon.

30. Posted by Not Eli on 23/6/09

    I don’t think anyone is recommending removal of control or regulation. The case is for legalization, which in theory could make narcotics safer as the source would be tested and proven also allowing for a safe method of procuring the item and adding to tax income for the government at the same time.

31. Posted by Pepper on 24/6/09

    Mabel needs Dr.Ham on the table.
    Right away, please!

32. Posted by Richard Chandler on 24/6/09

    These are cool:
    Then the FDA had to get involved and regulate everything.This world has gone to the dogs in a hand basket.

    P.S.There is no hope for America

33. Posted by Gavin Mills on 26/6/09

    ^ Awww. :< You can’t have methaqualone or butabarbital…so there is no hope for America, naturally…
    :<

    Idiot.

34. Posted by thomas on 26/6/09

    so mr. mills.. who’s the real idiot?

35. Posted by ccrow on 28/6/09

    Better watch out, it might be YOU!!!!

36. Posted by Stephanie on 28/6/09

    People become addicted to the drugs we take OTC and are prescribed to, just as they must have become addicted to these at some points. Addiction is going to happen when it comes to pharmaceuticals, or any other thing (such as sex, money, computers, etc.), and it is unavoidable that some people will take too much of some stuff and end up having it pulled off the market for that reason. I mean, there are cases of people becoming addicted to NASAL SPRAYS. Are we to pull them off the market as well?

    Because of substance abuse, it has become increasingly difficult to acquire much-needed medicines because, as has been said here, doctors need to look out for number 1, which is no longer the patient but in fact themselves. I went to my city’s ER a few months back in such severe pain all I could do was cry. I was prescribed MOTRIN (Ibuprofen) which, if you don’t know, is used OTC to treat such things as mild headaches and muscle pains. This is because in my small city, pills are bought and sold on the streets constantly. We just had 63 drug busts in the past 2 weeks. Three months later, I was diagnosed with gall stones by a different doctor, and it had gotten to the point where my liver was being blocked by the stones. They say this pain is far worse than child labor. For this, I was initially prescribed an OTC medication. Are you kidding me? What I wouldn’t have done for some good old opium at that point.

37. Posted by Sylvia on 28/6/09

    Our cough medicine still contains chloroform, and it is the most effective one I’ve had.

38. Posted by Laura Killenchen on 29/6/09

    1) Coca-Cola didn’t ever contain alcohol.
    2) “Hysteria” was believed to be caused by a wandering womb.
    3) Basically all soft drinks in the 19th-century were advertised as medicinal.

39. Posted by lvgraham on 30/6/09

    I still use a vibrator for my hysteria. it works like a charm.

40. Posted by hondo on 30/6/09

    Ivgraham,
    would you be willing to demo that?

41. Posted by Chris Hoke on 1/7/09

    Ha. “Daytime Sedation” is my new favorite phrase.

42. Posted by DogstarJ on 1/7/09

    Hondo-naughty, naughty!
    Mr. Chandler – no hope for America because you can’t get these drugs – you are an idiot! Mr. Mills is right.
    Thomas – you, too, are an idiot!
    Ivgraham – funny! Don’t bother demonstrating though.
    Stephanie – I totally agree with you 100%.

43. Posted by Andrew on 2/7/09

    You know, ever since learning about Coca Cola I’ve been wanting to taste the original version made with Coca leaves :)

44. Posted by J on 2/7/09

    Marijuana is a great medicinal plant, and therefore should be legal. The rest should stay Illegal.

45. Posted by oli on 4/7/09

    surely prohibition equates to non-regulation – LOL – the authorities have absolutely no control over what illegal drugs are taken, fair enough they have the authority to take them away from some individuals that get caught (minority being an underestimation) but essentially illegal drugs are more available for those individuals under age 16 than legal ones. maybe the term ‘controlled drugs’ should be amended to ‘uncontrolled drugs’! – for a world that largely involves major leaders being ‘control freaks’, takes the piss what we (as civilians) get away with, no?

46. Posted by ges on 4/7/09

    My late father got his pharmacy degree around 1928. He told me that he used to sell heroin, but I think a prescription was required by that time.

47. Posted by PharmApplicants on 5/7/09

    times have certainly changed.. i wonder if these even needed a prescription?

48. Posted by McCow on 5/7/09

    The politicians…….Lawyers, Judges, Cops Assistants, etc…. all make their living from peeps abusing drugs & alcohol….
    Then the paying fines
    Why would they change that?

49. Posted by Anna on 7/7/09

    Hi,
    I am really keen to find the source of many of these adverts, as they are really interesting and relevant to a television programme I am making. Does anyone know the contact details of the author? Alternatively can he/she drop me an email? I am very keen to get hold of copies of some of the adverts and it would really help to know the source.

    Thank you,

    Anna

50. Posted by JAMIE LINDSEY on 9/7/09

    I READ A STORY FROM OUR TOWNS NEWSPAPER DATED 1903. IT WAS ABOUT A PROMINANT DENTEST WHOSE WIFE HAD LEFT HIM. HE BECAME VERY DEPRESSED AND THE PAPER SAID HE USED COCAINE AND HEROIN FOR HIS DEPRESSION,BUT HIS DOWNFALL CAME WHEN GE STARTED DRINKING! IT SEEMED NO BIG DEAL ABOUT THE COCAINE AND HEROIN USE ,BUT THAT DRINKING MADE HIM COMMIT SUICIDE! IF ONLY HE HAD STUCK TO DRUGS! SURE WOULDN’T WANT HIM WORKING ON MY TEETH DURING THAT TIME UNLESS HE SHARED!

51. Posted by Fernando Comas on 11/7/09

    Congratulations
    http://pharmacoserias.blogspot.com/2009/03/drogoteca-sonfueron-productos.html

52. Posted by Ian MacLeod on 15/7/09

    My grandfather was an old moonshiner – made it and ran it. My first cough medicine was moonshine and honey (he had a bunch of beehives out back). Granny used snuff from the time she was ten, and a snuff poultice was used for bee stings and bug bites. There were a LOT of home remedies in use at the time (early to mid-fifties). In my family, at least. A friend now in her late 80’s remembers when she had asthma trouble as a child, her mother got an herbal remedy from a Native American medicine man that was a dried plant burned on a clean ashtray or tin foil that she was to inhale the smoke from. It worked, but she never knew what it was until, in the 60’s, she smelled marijuana burning for what she had thought was going to be the first time. That was her asthma medicine!

    Ian MacLeod
    Activist PRN. Nonprofit, Nonpartisan, 501©(3) Corporation.
    Progressive Political Activist.
    Veteran, Disabled, Chronic Intractable Pain Patient, 25 years
    Primum, non nocere!
    Illegitimis non carborundum!

53. Posted by Гей сайт on 19/7/09

    WHoa!
    So many things were alloewd back in the days///

54. Posted by Tonya L. Spencer on 22/7/09

    All I have to say is………..

    WOW!!!!

55. Posted by Dennis on 25/7/09

    Russian heart aid “Korvalol” still contains phenobarbital.. Mmm, yummy!!

56. Posted by klause on 25/7/09

    decriminalizing drugs wont happen until a new purpose is found for all of the government agencies presently involved in enforcing these futile drug laws…
    the immense cost of operating these organisations has consistently increased over the years and will continue to do so in spite of there seemingly impossible objectives,the drug war has become a powerful industry upon which a whole shit load of people depend on to make a living…

57. Posted by ss on 25/7/09

    decriminalizing drugs is stupid. they should be legal and regulated, as is alcohol and tobacco which are far worse.

    the tax revenue would be tremendous.

58. Posted by AlieoutofSpite on 26/7/09

    @ Ann Ferguson-
    Nuclear plants don’t have any ‘emissions’. Unless you mean the waste, which is processed into blocks of glass which provide it’s own shielding (also, the spent fuel is diluted to such low levels of radiation, you get more from your own house and the world around you) so it’s really a moot point.

59. Posted by Johnny19 on 26/7/09

    Someone above mentioned how illegal drugs are easier to get hold of than legal?

    I dunno about the US, but over here in the UK that was true for me when I was younger. I’m 19 now so I can get as much booze as I want, but back when I was 16, I remember I could get MDMA, ketamine, weed, whatever, no problem, but it was HELL getting hold of beer!

    Just food for thought.

60. Posted by n00bs on 28/7/09

    W00T my LOLZ haz a cheezburger has bean 2 PHOTOSHOPED! N00BS ROLF

61. Posted by Alex on 1/8/09

    I remember seeing an old advertisement from the 1920’s or 1930’s for a nasal spray and printed on the ad read: “New! Now With Methamphetamine”

62. Posted by Compost Bin Tumbler on 1/8/09

    Holy smokes, where… how… geez… I am just blown away!! Great post! haha

63. Posted by leo martin judice on 2/8/09

    i can imagine what went on in the early days for remedies

64. Posted by WES on 6/8/09

    AHEM, EXCUSE ME? THE “OLD DAYS”? THESE DRUGS HAVE NEVER BEEN,AND STILL AREN’T, “UNAVAILABLE”. IN FACT THEY ARE 1000%MORE POTENT NOW THEN THEY WERE THEN!!! AND THAT,T-H-A-T IS THE PROBLEM WITH DRUG ADDICTION TODAY, JUST IMAGINE WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO SAY IN 100 YEARS ABOUT “TYLENOL”, I.E. “THEY REALLY DESTROYED THIER LIVER FOR VERY MILD PAIN RELIEF” THEY ARE JUST NOW REALIZING (FROM THE PAGES OF “DUH MEDICAL NEWS”) THAT ANTI-DEPRESSANT MEDICATION REALLY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SERATONIN LEVELS DUE TO THE “PRIMARY ACTION” OF THE DRUG, TRUTH IS THEY MAKE YOU TIRED, SO YOU SLEEP, AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS THE REASON THE SERATONIN AND NOREPH’ LEVELS IN THE BRAIN, SIMPLY BECAUSE PPL WHO ARE DEPRESSED MAY SLEEP ALL THE TIME THEY DON’T GO INTO DEEPER R.E.M. STATES AND THESE AHEM “ANTI-DEPRESSANT DRUGS,(WHICH ARE BASICALLY CHEMICAL LOBOTOMIES, NOPE… NOT FOR ME GIVE ME A JOINT ANYTIME, JUST REMEMBER THIS FOLKS, “EVERYTHING HITLER DID WAS LEGAL, EVERYTHING OUR FOUNDING FATHERS DID WAS ILLEGAL”

65. Posted by SIA on 12/8/09

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66. Posted by chrisss on 17/8/09

    Just because the FDA regulates a drug does not make it safe. My mother in law has never taken an illegal drug in her life including marijuana. She had knee surgery and was prescribed Oxycontin. She is now an addict, visiting 3 different doctors so she can feed her addiction. This is a legal opiate even if she is using illegal methods(dr shopping) to obtain. Is there really enough research behind medications to determine the long term effects on the body? How many drugs approved by the FDA have been recalled in the past 20 years? Govt has a little too much control over what is legal and what is illegal/controlled. In the meantime drug companies are making billions of dollars.

67. Posted by Bob on 24/8/09

    Boogie-boogie-boogie!

68. Posted by The truth Doctor on 30/8/09

    The Drug and Alcohol latest radio ad starts with a Mother asking her som if he’s ever tried marijuana then says cocaine , heroin , speedballs , etc. What they are attempting to do is tie marijuana in with all other hard drugs . It’s another deceptive lie in an attempt to make the ignorant believe marijuana is like all other hard drugs . They do this because marijuana can be a deterrent to take prescription drugs or drinking alcohol both of which can kill you and even cause permanent harm to the human body . Marijuana DOES NONE OF THESE THINGS .

69. Posted by Spy Gear on 10/9/09

    truth in advertising

70. Posted by docohen 4 weeks, 2 days ago

    Anyone remember Doridens? Like Quaaludes..for the young and the restless! Also Dexamyl(combination dexedrine and barbituate) for that smooth uplifting feeling.Heroin was introduced as the “heroic” cure for morphine addiction, oh well.

71. Posted by best juicer 3 weeks, 1 day ago

    There are so many here that I’m not sure which one is my favorite. I love the old time art work though, and you really almost do a whole exhibit based around this.

    On second thought I think my favorite is Mrs. Winslow’s soothing syrup for teething children – yikes!!

72. Posted by Watch Gossip Girl Online 2 weeks, 3 days ago

    Wow I would love to have a tonic that not means I do not have to go to sleep nor eat ever again! I wonder if its addicting?

73. Posted by Amorphous JUNKe 2 weeks, 2 days ago

    I heard an excellent presentation about the marketing of speed-type drugs to women in the ’50s but I hadn’t seen pictures of some of the magazine ads from those times until now. Of course, speed was marketed big time to the post-war workforce of Japan also causing a significant speed problem there for many years.

    Good collection Pill Talk. Hopefully you can make it more comprehensive if you get more submissions.

74. Posted by Erika von Utter 1 week, 6 days ago

    I think drugs are bad in every single case. Honestly, drugs provide ONLY with addiction and your life will get fucked.

75. Posted by Local Internet Marketing 1 day, 5 hours ago

    This was a FANTASTIC post! Very interesting to learn that most of this crap was legal at one time! WOW

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