Have
you noticed the abundance of drug advertisements on TV and in magazines? This
is not a new phenomenon apparently. The following
ads were found in the Lawrenceville Republican Jan 25, 1900. These were usually
based on testimonials, and, of course, were before the passage of the Pure Food
& Drug Act of 1906 and the Shirley amendment of 1912 prohibiting false and
misleading claims including the use of the word “cure.”
Good old Granny Metcalf
of Kentucky 89 years old says that Dr. Bell's Pine – Tar – Honey is the best
grippe cure, cough, lung and bronchial remedy that has been offered during her
life. If you are restless and cannot sleep at night a dose of Dr. Bell's Pine –
Tar – Honey will give you natural rest and refreshing sleep. It checks the
cough at once and cures a cold in one night. It heals the throat, chest and
lungs, cures la grippe (flu) permanently and does not stupefy.
(The current medical dictionary says it is still used in soaps and in the treatment of skin diseases. A couple of places on the Internet say it has been used as an expectorant but the FDA doesn’t seem to endorse it for that use. E. E. Sutherland of Paducah, Kentucky was “the originator and sole manufacturer of Dr. Bell’s Pine Tar Honey,” a patent medicine which contained not only pine tar but assorted alkaloids, ammonia, capsicum (the hot stuff in jalapenos), glycerin, sassafras, sugar, and miscellaneous chemical delights. However in 1900, it was ‘safe for children’:
Croup, the great enemy
of childhood, succumbs at once to the soothing influence of Dr. Bell's Pine –
Tar – Honey. Bronchial affections (I know
the word is ‘infections’, but the paper spelled it ‘affections.’) lose
their danger when this great remedy is at hand. No home should be without it.
And it could even ‘cure’ Tuberculosis …
Consumption is
prevented by giving early attention to a cold, whether slight or severe. A cold
quickly disappears when Dr. Bell's Pine – Tar – Honey is taken. This remedy
makes weak lungs strong-- sold everywhere.
E.E. Sutherland also made another wonderful drug—and he was not shy about his advertising claims either… Laudanum (opium), cocaine, and alcohol were the usual ingredients in such a patent medicine…
The best rheumatism
medicine for both muscular and inflammatory, both instantly relieved with Dr.
Bell's Anti-– Pain, the world's greatest, best and most wonderful painkiller.
If
you were a Lawrence County resident in 1900 and having trouble with your eyes
you could try Sutherland’s Eagle Eye Salve.
Protracted headache
often results from overworking or straining the eyes. Sutherland’s Eagle Eye Salve
rests the eyes by taking out all the inflammation and then strengthens the
sight and removes the headache by acting as a tonic to the optic nerves. If
your eyes become tired, smart, burn or feel heavy, Sutherland Eagle Eyes will
make them light and bright to give you a clear, keen sight. Thousands of people
use it who have never had sore eyes – it is an eye tonic.
Or
perhaps you suffered from a rundown state….
Walker's Tonic is the
link that picks up the vital force of a man in his rundown state and binds him
to health and strength by recuperating the brain, regulating the action of the
heart, and nourishing the nervous system.
However by 1906 Sam Dreyfus of Kentucky and maker of
this wonder drug was criminally charged for mis-branding a drug product and
fined $25. Samples were analyzed and
found to consist of 12% alcohol, 4% non-volatile material including capsicum,
celery, an emodin-bearing drug and 1% ash, consisting of phosphates,
carbonates, chlorides and sulphates of iron and potassium , the balance of the
product being water.
But the best one of all perhaps was a cure for
keeping old people young. It was sold at G. I. Nunns’ drugstore on the Square.
According to a testimonial of J.C. Sherman, a veteran editor of the Vermontville,
Michigan newspaper, Mr. Sherman had avoided nervousness, sleeplessness,
indigestion, heat trouble, constipation and rheumatism by using Electric Bitters, and he wrote
that the “cure couldn’t be praised too highly. It gently stimulated the kidneys, toned the stomach,
aided digestion, and gave a splendid appetite. It worked wonders for his wife
and him. It was a marvelous remedy for old people's complaints.” The cost for
this miracle drug--- only $.50.