DOSTORS & MEDICINE ARE MERCHANDISE FOR PROFIT
Our
gullible society is always obsessed with their health. In the 1700 many smart
pharmacists thrived on this need of the people. In the past people, eminent and
others often suffered from poor digestion. Sanitation practices were hit and
miss even in the best kitchens. Fresh fruits and vegetables were unavailable in
the off seasons. Well off people could eat vegetables preserved in salt and
sugar, poor people did without. As for stress, work hours were long and usually
physical. A typical workday was 12 hours and the work week was 6 days with only
day of rest being Sunday.
Many concoctions and pills were originally created as medicines.
Many concoctions and pills were originally created as medicines.
In 1767 an English clergyman invented carbonated water and marketed it as
man-made natural mineral water. He falsely claimed that it was beneficial to
drink for one’s health, and you can now see through his gimmick.
In 1791 Johann Jacob Schweppes, a German watchmaker turned soft drink
entrepreneur, began mixing carbonated water laced with quinine. This tonic
water when mixed with Gin became a very popular drink throughout the British
Empire. It helped solve the Malaria problem unknowingly.
In 1870 Dr. Thomas introduced Eclectric oil patent medicine. It
could be used internally and externally. The secret concoction included spirits
of turpentine, camphor, oil of tar, red thyme and fish oil. It claimed to cure
tooth ache in 2 minutes, ear aches in 5 minutes and deafness in 3 days.
In 1885 the first patent medicine was put on the market for our gullible public,
who can be found in every part of the world at any point of timeline. It was
Lydia Pinkham’s vegetable compound laced with alcohol which made it the subject
of an efficacious drinking song, the ballad of Lydia Pinkham. Patent is
actually a misnomer. To obtain an official government patent the manufacturer
had to list ingredients on the bottle. Instead most patent medicine formulas
were jealously guarded secrets, sometimes for good reason. It was another
version of natural mineral waters considered to be beneficial to drink for
one’s health. Millions of people were curious to find it out for themselves so
they all tried it and many got hooked on to it for life and future generations.
In 1889 another trained pharmacist invented a sticky sweet beverage and sold it
from Hood’s Drug stores in Lowell Mass. His mesmerizing slogan was “For that
tired feeling take Hood’s.” He also
advertized in Globe and Mail a second slogan “Hood’s Sarsaparilla the surest
way to have good blood.”
In 1890 a young enterprising George Taylor
Fulford bought a
patent medicine formula from a local doctor William Jackson for $50 and made it
into a multi-million dollar empire. The secret formula was mostly iron oxide
and Epsom salts. These ingredients addressed two most common ailments of the
time, anemia and constipation, but the advertisements claimed to cure everything.
“Pink pills for pale people.” Fulford sold 40 pink pills for 50 cents a box. He
thrived because he was lucky be in the days of reliable postal system and mass
media of numerous dailies.
In 1900 many pharmacists created interesting concoctions initially
marketed as medicines, and later on became commodities of mass consumption.
In 1902 perhaps the greatest patent medicine
turned soft drink
success story is the tonic invented by John Pemberton. He was an ex-confederate
soldier turned pharmacist who wanted to find a cure for the shattered nerves of
ex-soldiers experiencing combat stress. Pemberton like many Civil War veterans
had become addicted to morphine after being wounded in the battle. In Europe, a
French chemist by the name of Angelo Mariani fortified Bordeaux wine with
cocaine from cocoa leaves and marketed it under the name of Vin Mariani. Queen
Victoria, Roman popes, and Thomas Edison were known fans of Mariani’s tonic,
which of course inspired many imitators.
Pemberton supercharged Mariani’s formula by adding a strong dose of
caffeine from coca pods and called his elixir Pemberton’s French Wine Coca.
Although the cocaine was soon dropped from the formula, one of Pemberton’s
business partners came up with a fresh and catchy brand name COCA-COLA. When
this medicinal elixir failed to break through, Pemberton sold the formula to
Asa Griggs Candler who switched his marketing slogan to target the young
healthy urbanities, and rest is history.
In 1906 the American congress passed the pure
food and drug act
requiring all drug manufacturers to be truthful in their advertising and to
list all addictive ingredients on their labels. Ironically, Coco-Cola ran afoul
of the new US law for not having cocaine in its drink as implied. The case was
dismissed and Coke was allowed to remain cocaine free.
Now for some frightening concoctions that the gullible public has been a target of;
Pesqui’s Uranium Wine was marketed to the public as a guaranteed cure for
diabetes. The secret formula was Bordeaux wine and uranium nitrate. Dr. Batty’s
cigarettes were marketed to people suffering from asthma, bad breath, and
bronchial irritation. How paradoxical is this claim and no one saw through it.
Then there was the Microbe killer that consisted of tap water, red wine, and
trace amounts of sulphuric acid. This too was a success with the public.
In 1914 The Loyd manufacturing company of Albany, N.Y. advertised Cocaine
Toothache Drops as an “instantaneous cure” for the teething children. It was sold
over the counter drug.
In 1920 Seven Up was created as a hangover cure even during the
height of prohibition. Seven Up’s slogan was “Take the outch out of the
grouch.” It contained lithium citrate, a known mood stabilizing drug. The trend
continues unabated with Red Bulls, Gatorades, and Vitamin waters. Today the
health freaks and their industry are worth $ 50 billion a year for weight loss
products and services alone because they have gullible customers to satisfy and
deceive.
Rohit Khanna - Author of Futuristic health care management, Today. & Magic of mind & miracle of body.
Rohit Khanna - Author of Futuristic health care management, Today. & Magic of mind & miracle of body.
