PATENT MEDICINES

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12726, 1 December 1904, Page 6

PATENT MEDICINES

TO ".'IIX KUJ'i'OI . Sir,—During the administration of the present Government, patent medicines, have been specially legislated for three times. In •■ the first instance, Customs, d dies, were 'la- ! rreased fern £5 per cent.' '*.■•' }■■'< per oust, ad ' valorem, presumably to Joe.7-._ n- '- dnstrics. The immediate effect of this legislation was that many leading'patent medicine proprietors outside ; New- .;X»-alan'J arranged to manufacture in the colony,.'and thus avoid the duties. : Resui*-,.:; No protection iv local cin'e n and considerable lorn of>' r», mue ■ ">, t'lu> colony. When this, . ■i a-.,' reajisid the '■«.i'iies werereduced,, to 15 p&r cent., which v. &: followed by '-a cessation of mimuiactiirii.g by English " and American' : concerns in. New Zealand, whose proprie- ':'.- tories are now again imported \ into ": "the colony. This left local ..competitors-; worse : off 'thar evei, as during this experimentallegislation, duties had been reduced from- 2.5 to.la per cent. The latest attempt to ; meet the case, .by I compelling proprietors :, to publish their se- r crets, is the most arbitrary .and violent act , of confiscation that has yet been introduced', in New Zealand.'':■; It . is, in effect precisely the same as' if the Government annulled all patent; rights; foi : manufacturing tgoods lin the colony, and allowed wholesale piracy of all trade rights in existence. The idea is' r " taken from Germany,'one of the few countries that' compels particulars of all ingredients to be printed on patent medicines, and the country ; that manufactures the : worst drugs in Christendom. The death-rate \ \ in France and Germany is higher than in ■ England w\ America (vide Mulh'all's' statistics),, and "since the: use of patent medicines-i in England the death-rate has been reduced.: It is sheer 'n'onst'hse to contend that there | are no secrets: in the : ; composition of patent medicines. •',, An analysis will 116 • doubt give | •: an approximate idea of >.. the medicinal ele- 1 , ' ments contained in any given medicine, ''but' . no analysis will; 'give all ; the component parts, it" is a well-known 'fact that herbs .; , cannot be analysed; and-general average; resuits do not warrant the sweeping statement: that all the secrets, respecting patent medicines have been exposed long ago;;. The abuse.: of patent medicine rights by vendors in America has' no "bearing on the question, in i this. country. None of the dreadful'mixtures referred to in. American, papers >,re sold in New Zealand. 'i On the contr?' ' 'fs;aii': ac- ; cepted fact that. the leading- rtedfahd:! locally-manufactured patent mi . are made up from skilful formulas for the purposes they are intended. If such were not the case, is it likely that the public 'would; still insist upon using 'medicines .that;.have, stood the test for over a quarter of a 0211tury'/ The great ■.'benefits derived by the general public from:the broper uso of patent medi- ' cines cannot, be properly; estimated by ; peo-. pie in the chief centres, where medical advice and medicine are'easily obtained. As already pointed out, in dealing with this matter, three-fourths of the population of the colony lies outside of the chief centres, and the "advantages to a widely scattered community of people, in having facilities for, ■ obtaining inexpensive portable^ medicine, are , incalculable. Mining communities, shearers, shepherds, and all classes of people who have no means of regulating their diet, and ; whose occupations lead to exposure in se- ; .vere weather, have to rely upon the use of ; patent medicines to keep in health. Up t0... date such people have had,some measure of protection /in the ; name, ;of suppliers, -'who manifestly take every precaution . in * their : own interest that the. quality of drugs used : is of the highest order. The real danger, as far as the public is. concerned, of this recent legislation is; that the compulsory publication " of ? formulas x wili ■■; at. ones ■be imitated by 'irresponsible vendors, % i who have no reputation :to retain, and who will simply trade 011 the formulas of medicines that have '■ acquired a large sale in the-' . colony. In,order to do so they; will have to, sell at a lower price to obtain'a footing, and 1; the, use of inferior drugs is bound to follow. Than there 'is a further danger of the general: public doing its own: dispensing, without the technical knowledge or appliances necessary • to obtain exact proportions or proper results. The medical profession have already severely | commented upon 'the danger of using formulas published in popular books of medicine, where serious ■ consequences have ;; resulted •} from misprints and,; misinterpretation of quantities. _ If there is any justification for legislation. at all in. the interests. of the public health, the suggestion thai formulas;should be. sub-?j' ' nutted under confidence to an officer of the.? Health Department before any registrationcould take .place, ; such ; officer ■■ to' have the power to refuse registration. to • any ;. patent medicine if the formula was harmful for. the; purpose such medicine.: was .intended, seems to amply, meet the case. ..' But in ; order "to-: provide for unregistered medicines, it would; be necessary to compel registration of all: patent and proprietary medicines offered for sale in the colony.—l am, etc:, . Justice.. ; ■'■■