Secret remedies: revelations from the BMA

摘要

The second half of the 19th century saw a massive growth in the numbers of proprietary medicines available to the public. Massive advertising campaigns and price cutting promotions encouraged the public to buy remedies for self-treatment. In addition, there were the sales of chemists' nostrums, that is, items of the pharmacists' own manufacture. The British Medical Association was not happy with the thought of self-medication for the public because it meant a possibility of diseases being undiagnosed and less revenue for doctors.