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LIMITATION OF OPIUM PRODUCTION
1283 well more than 12 years after treatment. For the treatment of the more sensitive growths such as lymphosarcoma the regional X ray bath had been developed with success at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital; many patients with widespread disease had been given thereby additional years of life. Rapidly growing tumours should, he felt, be regarded as radiological emergencies ; they were often so sensitive that their response to treatment was almost immediate and a day’s delay might make all the difference between metastasis and its avoidance. But even when metastases had occurred palliation might still be obtained by X ray treatment. Prof. Woodburn Morison agreed with Prof. Holfelder that there was probably no quantitative difference in the effects of different qualities of radiation. There was nothing that radium could do that X rays could not.
ingly necessary. Allowing a yearly average of 240 tons of raw opium as being required for the legitimate manufacture of drugs, and some 300 tons said to be necessary for making " prepared " opium, the world-requirement for what are deemed legitimate purposes is put at 540 tons a year. On the other hand the world-production of raw opium in 1933 was not less than 1530 tons and in 1934 not less than 1080 tons. Difficulties in the way of such limitation of production have been urged by the fact that whereas the manufacture of drugs from opium is limited to some 60 factories in 15 countries, the cultivation of the opium poppy concerns hundreds of thousands of farmers over an area of 100,000 hectares without including China. The other opium-
growing countries are Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Greece, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Turkey, Soviet Russia, It is however anticipated that and Yugoslavia. THE MEDICAL STAMP DUTY INQUIRY agreement may be arrived at with those responsible IN 1929 the revenue from the sale of patent for drug factories which receive the raw material, medicine stamps was 1,320,780 ; from that peak as well as with the monopolies dealing with opium it dwindled year by year and by 1935 the revenue for smoking and thus bring about limitation of the had fallen to less than 750,000. In the meantime market for these permitted purposes. Accordingly it is obvious that the sale of such medicines has the Assembly, at length convinced that the limitation increased substantially. This is the case for inquiry of raw materials constitutes a decisive step in the and the Select Committee of the House of Commons League’s campaign against the abuse of narcotic which began to hear evidence on Thursday last week drugs, is urging all governments to furnish the should have little difficulty in touching the spot. advisory committee, before Jan. 31st, 1937, with When Lord John Cavendish, then Chancellor of the replies to the questionnaire that has been addressed Exchequer, introduced in 1783 the tax on medicine, to them. Two preliminary conferences are to be he estimated that it would yield the " surprising " summoned as soon as possible by the advisory comsum of 15,000, and his estimate was not far wrong. mittee, one to be composed of representatives of In the first two years of last century the yield was countries producing raw opium for export and the 14,000 and S14.790 respectively, and it is significant other of representatives of countries exporting prethat Scotland contributed only :E78 and :E94 to these pared opium for smoking and of countries having sums. From that time onward the revenue began to monopolies for the same. A report made by the Permanent Central Opium grown until in 1914 it reached 360,375. The rate of duty was doubled in 1915 and it was not until 1919 Board indicated that in the year 1935 there was an that the revenue reached the million mark, after which excess of 2303 kg. of morphine manufactured, 68 kg. the demand began to run wild. Then began a search excess of heroin, and 269 kg. excess of cocaine. The for lawful means of evading the duty. It was disquantity of morphine produced in 1935 exceeded the covered in a judicial ruling that medicines the amount in 1934 by 4649 kg., that of cocaine in 1935 composition of which was declared were not subject exceeded the amount produced in 1934 by 538 kg., while there was a decrease of 39 per cent. in the to duty if sold by registered chemists and druggists. One after another, the owners of proprietary medi- amount of heroin manufactured. cines began to take advantage of this exemption and BCG AGAIN altered their labels to the extent of indicating upon IF the in some respects departed Swedes have them the names of the ingredients of the pills and from the laid down by Calmette with principles did not render the goods potions. That, however, non-dutiable if they were sold by shopkeepers who regard to B C G and the route by which it is administered, they have more than made good their were not chemists, and the strange situation arosedigressions from the path of conformity by supplying and is still with us-under which patent medicines in no are sold by chemists stamp controlled tests. From a lecture by Prof. Israel packages bearing and by ordinary shopkeepers in packages bearing a Holmgren’of Stockholm it appears that expert Swedish opinion is on the whole definitely in favour stamp. Strange as this anomaly may appear, it is of B C G vaccination. The most convincing evidence not in discord with the intentions of the framers of comes from the county of Norrland where Prof. the legislation, for Lord John Cavendish, in introNaslund supervised a large-scale test under the segis sell I shall all who ducing it, said, require persons medicine and who were not regularly bred to the of the Swedish National Association against Tuberprofession of doctors etc., to take out a licence, and culosis. Between 1927 and 1933 the children given B C G numbered 7765. The tuberculosis mortality this being done there will be a duty of 8 per cent. laid on the medicines." But Chancellors of the was about five times higher among the controls Exchequer do not like to see revenues going down than among those receiving the vaccine, and as all concerned were convinced that the conditions under when expenditures are going up. which the children lived were approximately identical "
LIMITATION OF OPIUM PRODUCTION AT the last meeting of the Assembly of the League of Nations which closed on Oct. 10th, attention was specially directed to the limitation of production of raw opium. It was realised that the alarming development of clandestine manufacture of narcotic drugs, to which illicit traffickers resort, renders the limitation of production of the raw materials increas-
for the two groups, a favourable verdict could not be evaded. Prof. Holmgren uses the B C G provided by Dr. Anders Wassen of Gothenburg, and he has found that the abscesses easily provoked by large and superficial injections can be avoided by giving it subcutaneously in small doses and at long intervals. It can also be given with impunity by intramuscular 1 Hygiea (Stockholm), Oct. 31st, 1936.
ingly necessary. Allowing a yearly average of 240 tons of raw opium as being required for the legitimate manufacture of drugs, and some 300 tons said to be necessary for making " prepared " opium, the world-requirement for what are deemed legitimate purposes is put at 540 tons a year. On the other hand the world-production of raw opium in 1933 was not less than 1530 tons and in 1934 not less than 1080 tons. Difficulties in the way of such limitation of production have been urged by the fact that whereas the manufacture of drugs from opium is limited to some 60 factories in 15 countries, the cultivation of the opium poppy concerns hundreds of thousands of farmers over an area of 100,000 hectares without including China. The other opium-
growing countries are Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Greece, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Turkey, Soviet Russia, It is however anticipated that and Yugoslavia. THE MEDICAL STAMP DUTY INQUIRY agreement may be arrived at with those responsible IN 1929 the revenue from the sale of patent for drug factories which receive the raw material, medicine stamps was 1,320,780 ; from that peak as well as with the monopolies dealing with opium it dwindled year by year and by 1935 the revenue for smoking and thus bring about limitation of the had fallen to less than 750,000. In the meantime market for these permitted purposes. Accordingly it is obvious that the sale of such medicines has the Assembly, at length convinced that the limitation increased substantially. This is the case for inquiry of raw materials constitutes a decisive step in the and the Select Committee of the House of Commons League’s campaign against the abuse of narcotic which began to hear evidence on Thursday last week drugs, is urging all governments to furnish the should have little difficulty in touching the spot. advisory committee, before Jan. 31st, 1937, with When Lord John Cavendish, then Chancellor of the replies to the questionnaire that has been addressed Exchequer, introduced in 1783 the tax on medicine, to them. Two preliminary conferences are to be he estimated that it would yield the " surprising " summoned as soon as possible by the advisory comsum of 15,000, and his estimate was not far wrong. mittee, one to be composed of representatives of In the first two years of last century the yield was countries producing raw opium for export and the 14,000 and S14.790 respectively, and it is significant other of representatives of countries exporting prethat Scotland contributed only :E78 and :E94 to these pared opium for smoking and of countries having sums. From that time onward the revenue began to monopolies for the same. A report made by the Permanent Central Opium grown until in 1914 it reached 360,375. The rate of duty was doubled in 1915 and it was not until 1919 Board indicated that in the year 1935 there was an that the revenue reached the million mark, after which excess of 2303 kg. of morphine manufactured, 68 kg. the demand began to run wild. Then began a search excess of heroin, and 269 kg. excess of cocaine. The for lawful means of evading the duty. It was disquantity of morphine produced in 1935 exceeded the covered in a judicial ruling that medicines the amount in 1934 by 4649 kg., that of cocaine in 1935 composition of which was declared were not subject exceeded the amount produced in 1934 by 538 kg., while there was a decrease of 39 per cent. in the to duty if sold by registered chemists and druggists. One after another, the owners of proprietary medi- amount of heroin manufactured. cines began to take advantage of this exemption and BCG AGAIN altered their labels to the extent of indicating upon IF the in some respects departed Swedes have them the names of the ingredients of the pills and from the laid down by Calmette with principles did not render the goods potions. That, however, non-dutiable if they were sold by shopkeepers who regard to B C G and the route by which it is administered, they have more than made good their were not chemists, and the strange situation arosedigressions from the path of conformity by supplying and is still with us-under which patent medicines in no are sold by chemists stamp controlled tests. From a lecture by Prof. Israel packages bearing and by ordinary shopkeepers in packages bearing a Holmgren’of Stockholm it appears that expert Swedish opinion is on the whole definitely in favour stamp. Strange as this anomaly may appear, it is of B C G vaccination. The most convincing evidence not in discord with the intentions of the framers of comes from the county of Norrland where Prof. the legislation, for Lord John Cavendish, in introNaslund supervised a large-scale test under the segis sell I shall all who ducing it, said, require persons medicine and who were not regularly bred to the of the Swedish National Association against Tuberprofession of doctors etc., to take out a licence, and culosis. Between 1927 and 1933 the children given B C G numbered 7765. The tuberculosis mortality this being done there will be a duty of 8 per cent. laid on the medicines." But Chancellors of the was about five times higher among the controls Exchequer do not like to see revenues going down than among those receiving the vaccine, and as all concerned were convinced that the conditions under when expenditures are going up. which the children lived were approximately identical "
LIMITATION OF OPIUM PRODUCTION AT the last meeting of the Assembly of the League of Nations which closed on Oct. 10th, attention was specially directed to the limitation of production of raw opium. It was realised that the alarming development of clandestine manufacture of narcotic drugs, to which illicit traffickers resort, renders the limitation of production of the raw materials increas-
for the two groups, a favourable verdict could not be evaded. Prof. Holmgren uses the B C G provided by Dr. Anders Wassen of Gothenburg, and he has found that the abscesses easily provoked by large and superficial injections can be avoided by giving it subcutaneously in small doses and at long intervals. It can also be given with impunity by intramuscular 1 Hygiea (Stockholm), Oct. 31st, 1936.