Salt Lake Tribune | 1904-07-03 | Page 17 | Acid Selling to be Checked

Acid Selling to Be Checked Druggists Too Often Responsible for Suicido by Careless Selling of Poison. NEW YORK, July 2. Severe condemnation condem-nation of the practice of druggists in selling carbolic acid without taking adequate precautions Is set forth by the records of the Health department de-partment showing tho frequency of suicide by the use of carbolic acid and the large proportion of deaths by that means of the total number of self-killed. self-killed. Commissioner Darlington believes be-lieves drugclsts as a rule do not take enough care In learning from buyers of carbolic acid the use that is to be made of it and In refraining from selling sell-ing the poison to persons who are practically prac-tically unknown to them. If the present pres-ent law governing the sale of poisons Is not stringent enough to keep carbolic acid from those who would destroy themselves, Dr. Darlington favors having hav-ing the law made more drastic. In 1903 805 men and women In the five boroughs of this city killed themselves. Of these 337202 men and 135 women-used women-used carbolic acid, a trifle moro than forty per cent of the total number. During the first quarter of this year 91 persons of tho total of 20S suicides resorted to carbolic acid 53 men and 38 women. During the porrcspondlng three months of 1903 tho deaths due to this poison numbers 55, and during the same period there were 171 persons who destroyed themselves. The Increase this year among those using carbolic acid was nearly 50 per cent. In 1900 292 of tho total number of suicides sui-cides that year used carbolic acid. In 1901 25C of a total number of 713 used the same deadly poison, and In 1902 263 out or a total of 772 who destroyed themselves used carbolic acid. Where three women a year kill themselves them-selves by using firearms, 150 men resort re-sort to revolvers, and In the meanwhile 135 women used carbolic acid. Comparatively Com-paratively few women seek death by drowning or hanging. For this reason the statement is made that druggists should be more scrupulous about selling sell-ing carbolic acid to women. "Carbolic acid in Its full strength ought not be In homes," Dr. Darlington said yesterday, "and especially in homes where those who are handling It are Ignorant of Its dancer. Druggists Drug-gists ought not to sell It over their counters to entire strangers under any circumstances. If diluted so that there is perhaps a quarter of a teaspoonful to a quart of water there would bo no harm. "But only with the greatest precaution precau-tion ought a druggist to sell carbolln acid at all. and the ferquency with which we read of deaths due to that poison Is evidence that there must be druggists who are not as careful as they should be. I propose taking stops that will check this evil."