The first part of this essay looks at the hazardous sale during the 1850s and 1860s of laudanum, a ten percent solution of opium in alcohol, whose palliative qualities derived from its consistent morphine contents. In an age before the invention of modern analgesics, laudanum was one of the few cheap and readily-available painkillers for the public at large and it was used for everything ranging from simple headaches to more painful and persistent ailments. The second part concentrates on the Sale of Poisons Bill of 1857 and the parliamentary committee that investigated the use of laudanum in Great Britain. The conclusions of the committee called forth vigorous opposition from the Pharmaceutical Society, which successfully lobbied against the proposed measures.
Poisons for the Asking: The Sale of Laudanum in the 1850s and 1860s
KLAVER, JAN MARTEN IVO
2016
Abstract
The first part of this essay looks at the hazardous sale during the 1850s and 1860s of laudanum, a ten percent solution of opium in alcohol, whose palliative qualities derived from its consistent morphine contents. In an age before the invention of modern analgesics, laudanum was one of the few cheap and readily-available painkillers for the public at large and it was used for everything ranging from simple headaches to more painful and persistent ailments. The second part concentrates on the Sale of Poisons Bill of 1857 and the parliamentary committee that investigated the use of laudanum in Great Britain. The conclusions of the committee called forth vigorous opposition from the Pharmaceutical Society, which successfully lobbied against the proposed measures.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
