Report ... on the adulteration of drugs. 2nd March 1838.

  • Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Date:
1838
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report ... on the adulteration of drugs. 2nd March 1838. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/26 (page 2)
    Q practised in a variety of quarters,-—by tlie foreign producer, fo¬ reign merchant, wholesale druggist, chemical manufacturer, and retailer,—-some of the more obvious or discoverable sources of the evil are the inadequate education of retail druggists, especially in practical chemistry,—-the want of an authorized system of simple tests for ascertaining the purity of drugs,-—the want of any check for preventing adulterations,—and the necessity, real or supposed, for lowering the prices, and of consequence the quality of drugs, in order to meet the unreasonable demands of the public. 3. That the practice of adulterating drugs will be probably dimi¬ nished by the College of Physicians adding to the Pharmacopoeia, as it has resolved on doing, a list of simple characters for the ar¬ ticles of the Materia Medica, by means of which they may be as¬ certained to be of the requisite degree of purity for medicinal use, and free from certain known adulterations. . 4. That, while this system may prove very efficacious by fur¬ nishing retail druggists with the means of detecting adultera¬ tions practised elsewhere, and thus of securing their own true inte¬ rests, it is highly desirable that the education of persons intended for this profession should be elevated as well as regulated and as¬ certained by some competent authority; and that in this way im¬ portant benefits would be conferred on the profession itself, on medical practice, and on the public generally. 5. That the adulteration of drugs, provided the two previous measures were enforced, might be in a great degree put an end to by a methodical system of visitation of public shops ; which, notwithstanding some failures in this country, your Committee are inclined to think may be rendered efficient under certain con¬ ditions, and more especially if conducted mainly by an organized and well-educated body of druggists themselves. 6. That advantage would also be derived from stated authori¬ tative advertisements of the wholesale prices of genuine drugs, and authoritative announcements of newly discovered adulterations. 7. That, although your Committee do not think it their duty at present to suggest any specific means for carrying the above-men¬ tioned measures into effect, they would strongly recommend that the state of the case be made generally known by the authority of the College, and for this end that the College shall publish this Re¬ port, together with an Appendix consisting of detailed observations on the subject, which have been communicated to your Commit¬ tee by their Secretary, and are lodged herewith.