What is a patent medicine?

Patent drug is a drug that is designed to be sold directly to the public, without a prescription. The term is generally used specifically to refer to the number of nostrums that flooded the market during the 18th and 19th centuries before it was forced to undergo regulation in the early 20th century. Some patent drugs live on: For example, the vegetable component Lydia Pinkham and Vicks Vaporub. However, the vast majority have disappeared in confusion due to stricter regulations on such compounds. The concept of "patent medicine" originated in the 16th century, when popular manufacturers of everything from soap to bread could receive "patent letters" from the members of the nobility who regularly used the product. The "patent" in "patent medicine" was to refer to this practice, not a literal patent or trademark.

Any number of things could be included in patent medicine, and in some cases these compounds were truly toxic due to the addition of poisonous ingredients. Alcohol was commonly included as a preservative and many patent medicinalsAVKů has publicized exotic sounding components that may or may not be included. Because such medicines could be extremely profitable, their formulations were carefully guarded and consumers had no way to know what was inside.

patent drugs are sometimes also referred to as nostrums . Some of the first examples of advertising come from patent medicine campaigns. The producers of these compounds would use everything from people dressed as doctors to false reports to promote their products, some of which send medicines on a tour in a travel medicine that included attractions and lectures on the efficacy of Throding the ingredient.

The efficacy of patent medicines was often relatively low, despite the high and powerful packaging requirements. Such compounds were usually not subjected to any testing before selling, and the creators often included ingredients such as chinin or mentOL for a sharp "medicinal" taste to convince consumers that the medicine is good for them. Many of the conditions of patent medicines have claimed that they treat, such as painful muscles and digestive problems, often leaving themselves, making it difficult to prove whether the medicine caused a medicine.

Patent medicine industry was a large enterprise and focused on people at all levels of society. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, journalists began to publish exhibits on patent drugs, revealed secret components and expressed concern about the use of potentially dangerous ingredients. As a result, the public has more realized frauds with patent medicine, and several governments have adopted laws such as pure food adrog act in the United States, which created government supervision of ingredients and advertising procedures.