PRICES OF DRUGS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 61, 9 September 1914, Page 8

PRICES OF DRUGS

ADVANCE IN MANY LINES EMBARGO ON EXPORTS. CHIEF ARTICLES AFFECTED. The widespread ramifications of the war are perhaps in no respect more marked than in the effect that they are having, and are likely to have, on the supplies and prices of many varieties of drugs and other surgical requisites which form an indispensable part of the equipment of hospitals and dispensaries. The needs of the large armies now operating in Europe have already had the effect of greatly curtailing the supplies of many drugs required for both surgical and medical purposes. Statements criticising the action of wholesale druggists in advancing the prices of certain drugs have recenly been published, and a reply to those has been made by the manager of one of the Auckland wholesale establishments. " There are hundreds of lines which have not been advanced more than 10 per cent.," a Herald interviewer was. informed, " but there are many other lines of which fresh supplies cannot be obtained. These naturally have become very valuable, and high prices are being paid for them. We do not think that the retail chemists have quit© grasped the seriousness of the position, or that they realise on how many drugs -the embargo of the prohibition of export has been placed by the Imperial Government. Our firm spent about £100 in cables to London, America, and Australia, in .endeavouring to Secure drugs which are urgently needed, and to obtain the latest information from the source of supjjlies." SOME OF THE DRTJGS AFFECTED. One of the cablegrams which was received from London states that the export of cotton wool, lint, celluloso wadding, bandages, gauzes, and fine chemicals has been prohibited. Another London cable states that the export of the following articles has also been prohibited :—lodides: — lodides and bromides of potassium soda and ammonia, salts of morphia, cocain, formalin, chloroform, carbolic acid, citrates, mercurial salts, .bismuth ! preparations, opium, belladonna, nux vomica, and quinine. A message from New York states that . bromides of potassium soda and ammonia are unobtainable, and that ' the stocks of carbolic acid are exhausted. Enquiries sent to Sydney produced replies stating that bismuth, ether, carbolic acid, broI mide of potassium, salicylate of coda, salol, sulphonal, phenacetin, trional, veronal liovaspirin, protargol, and aspirini cannot be supplied from that source. Enquiries addressed to New York did not produce encouraging ' replies. On© message stall t that the price of peroxide of hydrogen, which is largely ' used for antiseptic purposes, had advanced by 75 per cent., whilst a later message intimated that "the largest peroxide factory has closed down owing to its being unable to secure the raw material." This raw material is peroxide of barium, and Germany is its source of supply. Cables, it is stated, have been received in Sydney confirming this statement. ANESTHETICS AND DISINFECTANTS. A cablegram from the New York house of a well-known German chemical firm states _ that the chemicals manufactured by this firm can be supplied at an advance of from 100 to 300 per cent, on ordinary prices. Another message quoted, which came from London, also shows how greatly the war is affecting supplies of anaesthetics, creosote, olive oil, and disinfectants, the export of all of which has been prohibited. "No shipments from Marseilles during the war, is an addendum to this message. The same authority states that advices had been received to the effect that morphia, the supply of which "was mainly dependent upon America, had advanced over 60 per cent, in price in America, and that it would probably advance much more. No chloroform is obtainable in Australia, and it was added that it wae doubtful whether any more could be obtained from America. In the case of one particular drug it was stated by the informant that whereas his firm was recently selling ib at 3s 6d a. pound it was unable ti> obtain any in New Zealand evef by offering to pay 14s a pound for it. "The outlook in regard to the lines referred to," he added, "is certainly serious, and the only way in whicli we can protect ourselves and the medical profession is by husbanding our stocks and only allowing small supplies to go out to each customer. Doctors, of course, will have- to be very careful in the use of these drugs." It was stated that it was expected that_ stocks of most of the English patent medicines would continue to come to hand at only a slight advance on ordinary prices, which would be necessitated by the advance in freights.