Opium

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a prominent position. NYU College of Dentistry (NYUCD) has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. This paper is the second in a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past" in which we bring to light five more samples containing opium: Dr. B.J. Kendall's Instant Relief for Pain, Dr. Munn's Elixir of Opium, Dill's Balm of Life, Foley's Pain Relief, and Brown's Instant Relief for Pain. These are just five examples out of countless syrups, nostrums, balm or liniments that contained narcotics and were linked to overdose, addiction and sometimes death. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive substances. The modern-day use of internet advertisements to make unsupported claims is in some ways even more brazen than the advertisements from a century ago. Indeed, the recent widespread use of prescription painkillers, along with the resulting epidemic in opiate addiction that has caused upwards of 50,000 deaths is a case in point.