Quackery Prevention.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 12, 9 October 1907, Page 6

Quackery Prevention.

proposed legislation. ' imixmitant evidence. The Quackery Prevention Bill Committees recommended that the Bill bo not proceeded with in its bresent form, but impressed upon the Government the .urgent necessity for passing legislation this session (1) to prevent the advertising and supply of fraudulent medicines • and appliances (2) to make it 'unlawful to supply any. medicine unless tho formula of production is set out on the label, (3) to prevent the unwarranted use of the namo : of any medical'man, or false title, in advertising any medicino or preparation, and (4) to make it unlawful for any person, other than a medical practitioner or veterinary surgeon to supply any appliance or preparation which maybe 1 used for preventive purposes. ' Tho Committee expressed its' appreciation of tho work of its chairman (Mr. J. ."■. Hanan). . When tho recommendations wero read in the Hbuso, , ,'. Mr. Hornsby, who said ho had taken great interest in this matter, congratulated Mr. Hanan and the Committee on tho results of' their careful, work. Ho said lives wero being sacrificed by the use of these quack medicines, and the mental hospitals were constantly receiving tho victims of the peoplo who wero soiling or advertising, theso medicines. Mr. Hanan, in briefly referring to the report, and to tho evidenco•taken by tho Committee, said the conclusion had been come to that much ha'rm was being caused by quack medicine and quack cures. It was-Ylifficult to legislate effectively,' yet he thought the suggestions of the Committee would meet { the situation, especially thb'so relating to tho powers of the Court. There was evidence ,Mr. Hanau , declared, that blackmail was.being levied against youths. In one case a sum had, been obtained from one boy by a threat of exposure It was time tile country was protected from this sort of thing. Evidence was given before tho Commission by William M'Lean, president of tho Wellington Association of Spiritualists , (registered); Richard Ayres, herbalist, Wellington; Benjamin Freebury Gardiner, medical herbalist, Wellington; Dr. J. M. Mason; David Wishavt, homeopath, Dun'cdin; Dr. Thomas Cahill; James Bradley, metaphysician, Wellington; Diehard John Larking, Wellington (who said ho had been cured by the mental healing process), William Percy Rough, metaphysician and masseur; J. • A. Gilruth (chief veterinarian), J Vosper, Vicar of Johnsonville (who gave information relating to the study of mental therapeutics,- and John E. S. Lord, a member of the Psychic Research Association of Wellington. / \ Dr. Mason, in his evidence, said the vast majority of tho patent medicines on tho market, which wero not absolutely harmful, wero simply formulae which had been taken from some standard books of medicine, or tho prescriptions of somo medical man. A favourite source of so-called herbal ■remedies was Nicholas Culpopper's " Herbal," published somo two hundred years ago. Some of the formulao advocated by him wero excellent. Tho class of men Dr. Mason was most interested in wero those who charged more money,than the medicino was worth. Under the Postal Act Amendment a number of people who claimed to euro certain ailments had been put on .tho " black list," but it. had been noticed that as soon as this was done a now namo was adopted. Tho witness went at length intp tho advertising methods, etc., of these peoplo. As to placing the formulae on tho bottles or packages, he thought that everything that contained poison should bo so marked. He was not ontirely woddod to tho publication of the formulao. Somo of the biggest manufacturers disclosed their ingredients, and a man .would not be giving away his rights. Ho would l>e satisfied to havo the formula deposited with the Board or .in his office. Ho did not think a herbalist should be allowed to prescribe unless qualified. Metaphysicians should not he allowed to, practise unless liconsed. lie thought tho Postal Act had done a good deal to stop quackery. Ho thought a newspaper should not be allowed to couio through tho post that contained n black-list advertisement. Dr. Cahill favoured labelling each parcel with the 1 formula giving the exact contents, and providing State machinery to protect the public from fraudulent advertisements. Mr. Gilruth favoured tho application of tho Bill to veterinary surgeon's, and to tho protection of animals from quackery.