| Show ALCOHOL W MOST indispensable site in compound 1 of sane pre cr pt ons it is of cour e t ue that some pro medlen es contain alcohol and nearly all liquid medicines prescribed by physicians con a n it no honest v 11 def nd the sale ot intoci cants under the guise of medicine but every honest man should protest against a system ot wholesale benun elation born of mal ce or ignorance of t oil princ pies and tos by selfish interests it Is as fumed that alcohol is the cahoe of in temperance but there is a great dif ference between alcohol and whisky it a substitute for could be found for se n the manufacture of medicines its discoverer would render a great service to the profession ol 01 pharmacy and the science of cine tor alcohol is a very expensive ingredient and a cheaper substitute would be g aday accepted Un fortun abely the word al in the minds of many people is associated excle alively w th bar rooms drunkenness drun kennes and all forms of degradation and vice this is due to a lack of knowledge by the general public ot the tact thai alcohol Is an indispensable requisite in drugs and fluid extracts all fluid extracts and tinctures on the druggists shelves contain from 20 to 90 per cent ot alcohol and ot all 1 quid medicines prescribed by phy more than 75 per cent contain it in large proportions I 1 alcohol is required to preserve or ganic substances from deterioration and from freezing and it Is also re quiren to dissolve substances not ble in water while it contributes to their preservation when dissolved diluted alcohol is largely employed in luid extracts and whenever a greater strength of alcohol is required as a solvent tor extract ng medicinal prin caples the medicine s of such a char acter as to preclude a large dosage and for this reason preparations even if containing 50 per cent or more ol 01 alcohol are bract cally less intoxicate ing than beer in such cases the character of the medicinal constituents la such as to absolutely forbid the taking of the medicine in any wa except in very small doses and al stated intervals only to assume that any great number of proprietary med are used as beverages is the absurdity exchange |
