CITY MEN AND THEIR TONICS.

Manawatu Herald, 15 October 1889, Page 3

CITY MEN AND THEIR TONICS.

-- - - •■-♦ A Chatwtth aChk.mistox thr Royal EXCHANGK . City men as a body are said. to be reforming. The disclosures in the Maybrick ease would I en/1 ua to sup • pose tbat business men in Liverpool are addicted to the free use of dangerous drugs in the form of tonics, or ' pick mo ups,* as the slang phraso goes; but ifc does not appear that

any Buch vioious habit general y pre f vails in London. Even the custom of a ternon' nips,' has been super- , seeled to a large extent by ♦ the I cofE c and cigarette,' which the ■ 'bread shops' in Throgmoiton i Street and elsewhere provide. The ! drinking men are dying out, and the new generation are not d sposed to furnish any more frightful examples. If after a holiday the young nan of today feels • seedy ' he does not indulge in the avtifici«l stimulant of a 'B. and S,' hut runs over to Lampiough's and has a mild aperient in the form of pyretic saline dashed with lime, juice syrup. On the iribrtfing succeeding " Bank Holiday the glasses rattle as merrily as in the bar of a public-house, and ' twopenny salines ' are tossed off as rapidly as the glasses of beer on the previous day. All the same, the ' pick- me up.'pf the chemist has not gone qui-e out of fashion ; and it was to • Cooper, under the Eoyal Exchange,' that our representative was directed by general consent as the authority in the city on that subject.

The Ixgrediexts op a Pick- me up. 1 A pick me up,' said* our authority, 'is generally a tonic giveiTtb a rnau when he feels low, no matter what the cause may be. Many persons vvoulcl rather have a ton c at a chemist's than a^g'ass of \ randy and water at a public house In many cases the effect is the same, but of course we use no intoxicating ingredients. 1

' What c.xc the components of an ordinary tonic, if it is not a secret ?' — ' Sal volatile, chloric, ether, and essence o' ginger. That would give the system a fillip Quinine and nux vomica fovra another common tonic. We make them ngreeable to the eye and to the taste."

'Do they ever contain 'lagerous ingredients ?'— We are aWays care ful that they should be quite harmless. We don't want to do a cnsto* mer good unknown to him at risk to ourselves.'

'Isavse^'c e^er nrtrted ?' — « It is most unusual, and ceitiinly never ex cept on special request or by pre* scriptiou. Ifc is given ps a tonic some'imes, but on a medical pre* scription. We would never dream of giving it to a stranger even when asked for unless he had a prescription. As to quantify, it is very sel* flora thai a dose c< ntains more than 5 drops. Tn Maybrick'g case he began with four drops and got up to seven. I have known five drops cause great disturbance in a patient's health and produce toxic effects ' •Is strychnine ever used aa a tonic ?' — • Occasionally it is given as a tonic when a customer asks for it, and generally as nine vomica, the natural form of strychnine.'

THE 70 JUG HABIT. ; Do you find that city men go in largely for tonics ?'— • Yes, and it is not surprising. They have a good deal of money to spend on the good things of this life, and they very often need them and can n fjord- to have them. Very frequently an overworked City man who is moderate in his habits will come in and have a ' pick me-up.' Of course he does not want to be seen nipping at the bar, or feel the intoxicating effects of spirits. 5

'TJnt do you think that the habit is increasing?'— 'l think that it is .SOlViPWll.it.' A SPECIALITY OF CITY 3risN. ' What aro bromides taken for ?' —

• Bromide- iire a speciality of the ci'y iuau. lv tiine3 of excitement a man is often unable to sign his cliques until he has had a dose of bromide. It steadies the nerves and reduces the debility caused by the excitement '

' And why should the taking of bromides grow into a habit ?' — ; I would find it difficult to explain why it should grow, but it does.'

' Then as to morphia ?'— • Morphia is taken for its intoxicating effects. Men bring their prescription and drink or inject it as they stand hfre. They will brighten up in a wonderful fasl.ion as soon as they have got it. Those who take to its use become quite enthralled.'

' Are there many morphia user? ?' — ' I oijly kn<.w three peop c at the present time. They stand it won ilevfu'ly. It is remarkable how they live on for years, increasing the quantity as they go on. <ne man % know takes a do-e in the morning as soo v as lie wakes to cheer him. He a.vakened weepjng, the tears being the finale of his' fearful, heart-brrak ing di eaiDs. Then he is PPt np for a time. I'erhai sin the mtdd'e of the diy ho has unother. 'I hen at night i he cannot sleep withou' it* Quinine aid bromide can be left off— a'.lhongh their habi u»l use weakens their will ts do 8 — but in the cose of morphia, when a person is shut up, and orced by his tVioi di 10 ahs am, the result is frightful and disastrous. Functions which have been stopped begin opernfug with. fearful intensity, and the r-sult is simply indescribable.' THE USE OF ABSENIC. • Coming Lack to arsenic, it is your opinion ihat it is n. t used as a ton c ti cnx extent f - 'No. 'I o pu f arsen c in a ' pick-mo up* would be th* a t of a lunatic on tho part of a c i mist, Huless there is a ppecia' r j i>< n, lot* it,r m\.ihe customer is an

ml i w;J arseiiic-talvfr. «s a rnedi_ Cnr, awcnic is used pretty freely, •xr. th^.^iibHc.i.nn.t.get i.old qf it'