Cocaine for toothache, morphine for your child's cough:
Vintage advertisements show just how far medicine and advertising have come since the introduction of regulation
It's not a drug known for its benefits to health. In fact, if you were caught with this class A substance and claimed it was for 'medicinal purposes' you'd probably be laughed at all the way to the police station.
But, bizarrely, cocaine - and other drugs like morphine - were routinely used in remedies for coughs, colds and toothaches as a cure-all magic ingredient in the Victorian era.
Long before the drugs were criminalised - and prior to the regulation of both medicine and advertising - the substances were frequently touted as effective treatments for illnesses as serious as cancer and liver disease.
more
Victorian adverts for health remedies laden with cocaine, morphine and alcohol | Mail Online
Vintage advertisements show just how far medicine and advertising have come since the introduction of regulation
It's not a drug known for its benefits to health. In fact, if you were caught with this class A substance and claimed it was for 'medicinal purposes' you'd probably be laughed at all the way to the police station.
But, bizarrely, cocaine - and other drugs like morphine - were routinely used in remedies for coughs, colds and toothaches as a cure-all magic ingredient in the Victorian era.
Long before the drugs were criminalised - and prior to the regulation of both medicine and advertising - the substances were frequently touted as effective treatments for illnesses as serious as cancer and liver disease.
more
Victorian adverts for health remedies laden with cocaine, morphine and alcohol | Mail Online