Report of the proceedings of the National conference on infantile mortality : held in the Caxton hall, Westminster, on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th March 1908, president - Right Hon. John Burns.

  • National Conference on Infantile Mortality.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report of the proceedings of the National conference on infantile mortality : held in the Caxton hall, Westminster, on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th March 1908, president - Right Hon. John Burns. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    nurses, who sometimes have little difficulty in procur- ing soothing syrups containing morphia from the nearest chemist. The great objection, however, to the unrestricted sale of soothing syrups and teething powders containing dangerous ingredients is not so much that they are immediately responsible for deaths which come under the notice of the coroner, or even that they contribute indirectly to the mortality rate, as that they permanently injure the health of the vast number of infants who survive. The sale of drugs of all kinds is regulated by the “ Sale of Food and Drugs Acts,” which makes no dis- tinction as to whether the drugs are intended for ad- ministration to infants or adults. In the first of these Acts (Section VI.), it is set forth :—“ No person shall sell to the prejudice of the purchaser any article of food or any drug which is not of the nature, substance, and quality demanded by such purchaser under a penalty not exceeding £20 for the first offence.” But it is expressly provided that “ an offence shall not be deemed to be committed in those cases where the drug or food is a proprietary preparation.” Section VII. says: “No person shall sell any compound article of food or compounded drug which is not composed of the ingre- dients in accordance with the demands of the purchaser under a penalty not exceeding £20” Seeing that the manufacturer of a secret remedy is absolutely free to alter and vary the ingredients from time to time there is no protection whatsoever to the buyer that he is buying what the vendor professes, or has at any time professed, to sell. The sale of what are considered to be poisonous or dangerous drugs is governed by the Pharmacy Act of 1868. The provisions of this Act make it an offence for any person other- wise than a properly qualified chemist to sell certain substances mentioned in the following Schedule of Poisons :—