Page images
PDF
EPUB

BULLETIN OF PHARMACY

Vol. XXX.

DETROIT, MICH., FEBRUARY, 1916.

No. 2.

THE

gists might dispose of stocks on hand. Each

BULLETIN OF PHARMACY package was to be stamped or was to bear a

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

sticker, setting forth the fact that it was in stock when the ordinance, which had, apparently, all the authority of a law, came into effect. It has been stated, however, that wholesalers did not enjoy this immunity; that what stocks of proprietaries they had on hand must be sold outside the corporate limits of the city of New York. Of course the scope of the ordinance was necessarily limited to Greater New York.

[blocks in formation]

THE NEW YORK ORDINANCE

HELD UP.

The New New York Health Board's ordinance designed to compel manufacturers of proprietary remedies to register with the Board and at the same time to file a list of the therapeutically active ingredients contained in each so-called "patent" remedy did not go into effect on January 1, 1916, as the Board had anticipated. For a while it may have appeared to those who were not in a position to know the inside facts that the Health authorities were to receive little opposition, for many retailers as well as a majority of the local jobbers had signified an intention to conform to requirements; that is to say, they had stated that they would not handle proprietaries which had not been duly listed and approved by the Board.

An arrangement had been made with Dr. Goldwater before he resigned to be succeeded by Dr. Emerson Haven to the effect that drug

THREE

Three separate restraining SEPARATE SUITS. injunctions were asked, however; three separate suits were brought challenging the authority of the Board to enforce so drastic a measure. It is held on the one hand that the Board has usurped an arbitrary power which it cannot lawfully possess and that, on the other, the enforcement of the ordinance would violate property rights held by the interested manufacturers which even the constitution of the United States safeguards. Suits were brought by the Charles N. Crittenton Co., as a representative wholesale drug house, by H. Planten & Son, as a representative manufacturing drug concern, and by E. Fougera & Co., as a representative importing drug company.

Counsel for the Health Board asked an adjournment of two weeks, holding that the affidavits together with the filed complaints represented a "colossal" mass of material, and on the further ground that the proprietary medicine interests had been making preparations for the litigation for an entire year. The judge contended that the Health Board had had this same year in which to make like preparation. A week was granted, however, and later a further postponement was agreed upon, attorneys for the drug companies sanctioning the delay, but insisting that during the interim no attempt be made by the Health Department to enforce the ordinance. This the Department pledged, and the promise was entered as a part of the record.

A POSSIBILITY OUTLINED.

According to the Drug, Paint, and Oil Reporter, the belief is held in some quarters that the Department realizes that it is playing a losing game and will come out shortly with a statement to the effect that this particular part of the Sanitary Code is temporarily suspended and will not be enforced for some time to come. The proprietary interests do not want such a thing to happen. They are ready to test the constitutionality of the measure, are confident of victory, and would like to have the issue fought to a finish.

Inspectors are said to be making the rounds of the drug stores, stamping goods on hand, where they are permitted to do so. Some druggists object strenuously, holding that a date mark on a package renders it unsalable, if it is still in stock a year or two hence. Some druggists, in fact, refuse absolutely to let the inspectors deface their goods in this manner. So far no arrests have been made when the work was thus interfered with, although the Department has threatened to cause trouble.

Granulated sugar is being TASSIUM BROMIDE. sold by unscrupulous drug

SPURIOUS PO

peddlers in the Eastern States for bromide of potash. Five dollars a pound is the price asked, netting the fly-bynight a handsome profit. As a rule the packages look innocent enough, being exact reproductions of those familiar to the drug trade. The name and trade-mark of the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works have been thus appropriated in a number of cases.

Especially under existing conditions is it extremely unwise to have anything to do with itinerant venders. The druggist should ask himself this question: If legitimate dealers in drugs can't get adequate supplies, how is it possible for those unknown individuals to become so well stocked?

[blocks in formation]

tween vegetable cells and animal cells it is more than probable that similar conditions will ultimately be found to obtain in the animal cell and tissue. Plant growth is now known to take place from apical cells, cambium, and phloem tissues, and if the author's explanation that immature parenchyma cells are thrown off by the cell cytoplasm is correct it must revolutionize our present conception of plant and animal growth.

Sphaerocytes are concerned chiefly in building up the body of fleshy fruits such as the tomato, grape, squash, etc. These fruit bodies are mainly of abnormal tissues, hence the deduction that Sphaerocytes, under the proper stimuli, will produce other abnormal tissues, such as cancerous growths, regenerative tissues, or scar tissue. The author freely admits that his explanation of the conditions observed may be fallacious, but if further researches confirm his tentative interpretation of the phenomena it will probably be shown that he has discovered the real cause of all neoplasmic growths. The report is epochal in cytological science.

ness.

A

IN IOWA.

On January 18th and 19th BUSINESS COURSE the College of Pharmacy of the University of Iowa, cooperating with the university's Extension Division, conducted a Short Course to which all druggists in the State were invited, the course having to do mainly with pharmacy as a busiPractical, every-day matters connected with drug-store management were made the subject of addresses, the aim being to teach advanced business methods. Among the speakers were W. J. Teeters, Dean of the Iowa College of Pharmacy; Frederick J. Wulling, President-elect of the A. Ph. A.; L. E. Sayre, Dean of the College of Pharmacy, University of Kansas; Edward Kremers, Professor of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin; R. S. Kuever, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy, University of Iowa; and H. E. Eaton, Secretary of the Iowa State Board of Pharmacy.

[blocks in formation]

that grows in the South, the seeds being extracted by a process invented by one Eli Whitney. It is furthermore contended by the State Health Department that this so-called snake oil, which is being demonstrated in drugstore windows, is devoid of the therapeutic action claimed for it, in that it will not cure corns more rapidly and readily than might be expected were its base plain lard oil, and furthermore that its retail price, equivalent to $50 a quart, is excessive, in view of the fact that it could be made and sold profitably at 50 cents a quart. We are also told that similar cases are being investigated by the Department and that it is the intention to proceed against the offending manufacturers.

WHAT IS A "DRINK?”

The term "food," according to the authorities at Washington, includes "all articles used for food, confectionery or condiment by man or other animals, whether simple, mixed or compound," and the term "drug" includes "all medicines and preparations recognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia or National Formulary for internal or external use, and any substance or mixture or mixture of substances intended to be used for the cure, mitigation, or prevention of disease of either man or other animals." These definitions become basic principles, in enforcing the Food and Drugs act. It seems, however, that neither the Government nor the Pharmacopoeia Revision Committee care to be quite so explicit when it comes to defining a "drink."

PUBLICITY IN

PENNSYLVANIA.

A new and highly commendable form of publicity has been inaugurated by the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Association

new in the sense that we do not recall that the plan has ever been put in operation in the drug trade, and commendable for the reason that it cannot fail to bring good results, in a general as well as a specific way. The Pennsylvania Association has created a new committee, known as the Committee on Publicity, and it is proposed to supply "copy" of an informative character to newspapers, "copy" that the papers will be glad to get and will publish without charge. This material is to be supplied at stated intervals and is to be of such a nature

[ocr errors]

that it will appeal to the popular mind. In each town or city some particular member of the Association will be selected to coöperate with the Central bureau in the capacity of local press agent. It will be the duty of this member to call at the newspaper offices and ask the editors to print the items which will be supplied by the parent body; furthermore, this member is to send marked copies of the papers in which the brief articles appear to the office at headquarters. Charles H. LaWall, Philadelphia; Edgar F. Heffner, Lockhaven; and Charles F. Kramer, Harrisburg, constitute the Association's Committee on Publicity.

THE GOOD IT WILL DO.

The good that can be accomplished in this manner may be best illustrated, perhaps, by giving a brief résumé of the first article sent out-one that was at once gladly accepted and printed by ten daily papers in Philadelphia. The article was headed "The Present High Cost of Drugs Unparalleled," and gave a list of drugs, beginning with acetanilide and ending with thymol, which had increased in cost all the way from 400 to 1800 per cent. It was shown why a number of products included in the list, particularly the coal-tar products, had sky-rocketed so pronouncedly, and how it thus comes about that druggists very often cannot refill prescriptions at the prices originally charged without losing money. It states, moreover, that prices are bound to continue in their upward tendency as long as the war lasts.

This is good and needed publicity. Customers of drug stores ought to know these things, and the proper channel through which to get the information to them convincingly is the public press. It is to be hoped that other sections of the county will take up the Pennsylvania idea and that the propaganda may become general.

[blocks in formation]

sons learned from Germany, in which country the government and scientific industrial concerns have worked hand in hand for more than thirty years.

The working basis of the proposed departure is, in its entirety, somewhat involved, and consists of an interlocking of the government, the Royal Society, an Advisory Council, and a number of committees. It is the aim to render available for the public good such discoveries as may be made in the course of experimental work in which government assistance has been invoked. The scheme is similar in many respects to the one recently proposed by Sir William Ramsay in his address at the ninth annual meeting of the British Science Guild.

A

The publication of the new U. S. Pharmacopoeia has been delayed. The volume was expected January 1, but the date on which it will appear is now somewhat indefinite. complication has arisen on account of the delayed report of the Committee on Atomic Weights, according to Chairman Remington. Some changes have been suggested in atomic weights, and whether certain alterations shall be made or the report ignored must be determined by a vote of the general committee. further delay is likely to be caused by a reconsideration of the whisky and brandy question. A vote is now being taken to reopen the discussion, and if carried a somewhat prolonged and heated debate on standards is not at all improbable.

A

In Illinois, after April 1, 1916, applicants for examination as registered pharmacists or local registered pharmacists must furnish proof of having satisfactorily completed at least one year's work in high school, or its equivalent, the only exceptions being applicants who are already registered as apprentices or assistant pharmacists. This action was taken at a recent meeting of the Board of Pharmacy, the resolution having been introduced by President Gregg.

*

Senator Owen has again introduced his bill to provide for a Department of Health. The measure, which was first brought out about eight years ago, proposes to create a Secretary of Health, who shall have a cabinet portfolio.

EDITORIAL

AN OUTLOOK BASED ON FIGURES. All druggists recognize in a general way, doubtless, that the business situation is unusually good. Statements to that effect appear in the daily papers, and trade and financial journals keep constantly reiterating the assertion. For that matter, the average druggist does not need outside evidence; his own sales reflect the improved conditions.

However, there is a vast difference between general statement and definite knowledge— and the latter is much more satisfactory. It serves as a firm foundation on which to build expectations.

"Consumer demand" is a somewhat technical term, but it is rather expressive, at that. So when we are told by Associated Advertising, the official organ of the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World, that there has been demand in America during 1915 we know that an increase of 15.93 per cent in the consumer general buying of all classes of merchandise taken as a whole increased to that extent. know that, speaking generally, the volume of retail sales in 1915 exceeded the volume of retail sales in 1914 by almost 16 per cent.

We

The Educational Research Committee of the organization referred to caused more than a thousand skilled representatives to visit leading retailers in every important American market center and submit a set of questions and, if permitted, go over the books. This somewhat formidable array of figures was reduced to percentages and tables under the direction of Mac Martin of Minneapolis, chairman of the Research Committee, and the results have been made known. It cannot be

contended, perhaps, that the figures supplied are beyond question, for while it is estimated that the survey would have cost in the neighborhood of $25,000 had each investigator been paid for his services, it must nevertheless be admitted that the remoter sections were not touched nor was the field swept clean. On the other hand, similar methods are often employed by other organizations, and by the Government, even, in getting at facts to serve as bases for statistics of various kinds. Taken as a whole Mr. Martin and his associates are to be highly commended for their enterprise.

In the drug trade comparisons were made between November 1914 and November 1915, and it is stated that the average drug store sold 11.6 per cent more goods in November 1915 than it did in the corresponding month of the preceding year. Expressed in percentages, the different sections of the country show the following gains:

New England, 14.1; Middle Atlantic, 16.9; South Atlantic, 9.3; East-south central, 14.1; East-north central, 12; West-north central, 9.2; West-south central, 14.9; Mountain States, 9.6; Pacific States, 7.2.

It is shown, also, that the stocks carried by retail druggists have increased 6.7 per cent. Supplementary reports seemed to indicate that a part of this increase was due to added sidelines.

Collections have been good, also. In every section except the Pacific States and the southeastern portions of Maine and New Hampshire collections have been above normal. During the month of November, 1915, druggists collected 51.2 per cent of all charge accounts on their books at the end of October. "The druggist is a mighty good collector," says the report; and a little farther along it is stated that the grocer alone outstrips him. Viewed as a whole, November collections were 4 points above normal.

So, it will be seen, we have definite grounds on which to base an optimistic outlook. "If you are selling luxuries," concludes the Committee, "or articles on which people found it possible to economize since the opening of the European war, unless something unforeseen should happen you may apparently expect a continual increase during 1916. If you are selling necessities, while the increase may not be so great, you have a reasonable assurance of a steady increase."

CHANGING WITH THE TIMES.

The last few years has seen the beginning of a transformation in the character of medicaments used by physicians in the treatment of disease. When we were all youths in the drug store, the vegetable materia medica occupied the center of the stage, with certain timehonored chemicals also in considerable favor. Tinctures and fluid extracts, waters and elixirs, pills and tablets were the order of the day.

Nor has this all changed yet. It is changing, though, with so rapid a pace that most of us have failed to keep step with developments. More and more is emphasis placed to-day by educated physicians upon biological therapy. Serums, vaccines, tuberculins, phylacogens, and the like are universally recognized as more efficient than old-line drugs, and the future will see them used to a far wider extent than even is the case to-day.

In still another direction is a marked change taking place. Animal glands have been searchingly studied by advanced experimentalists during the last few years, and this research has laid before the physician many agents of remarkable usefulness.

Adrenalin was perhaps the first pronounced success in this field, and then came corpora lutea, pituitrin, extract of the pineal gland, extract of the parathyroid gland, and products like thyroprotein and thyreoidectin. When substances of this kind are employed, we are using the very bodies which nature herself develops for her own protection and for the treatment of her own diseases. We are using natural instead of artificial weapons. same statement is practically true of biological therapy. Antidiphtheric Serum is the very agent developed automatically in human or animal blood to negative and offset the diphtheria toxin itself. Hence the term anti-toxin. When we administer it we merely fortify nature's own powers of resistance.

The

All of which is merely an outline of the numerous changes that are rapidly taking place in the materia medica-in the substances used daily by physicians for the cure of human ills.

Has the druggist caught up with these advances? Has he realized that to a considerable extent the old days of vegetable medication, and even chemical medication, are disappearing? More important still, has he adapted himself to the situation?

We fear that in many cases a negative answer must be returned to these questions. Perhaps the majority of druggists, indeed. have failed to keep in stock these newer and more efficient remedies, instead of advancing step by step with the physician, remaining hist coadjutor, and continuing to supply him with the new as well as with the old. Many a druggist has had the fatal notion that the use of glandular and biological products by the physi

« PreviousContinue »