Description

Salmon Opium Cough Lozenges

Antique tin medicine box - Pharmacy - Apothecary

This box of Salmon Lozenges (Pharmacist in Melun) combines the aesthetics of the Belle Époque and the rigour of the Great War with a touch of opium!

Indeed, the tin specifies ‘Arms tax included’, which allows this item to be precisely dated between the law of 30 June 1918 and the year 1920. This tax was introduced to support the national war effort and subsequent reconstruction.

Aesthetics: Art Nouveau-style metal lithography (what was known as the “noodle” style) with stylised plant motifs, typical of the turn of the century.

The box’s special feature: Opium!

“Thebaic extract”: The ingredients list mentions the use of Thebaic extract (1.6 mg), a scientific term for opium. At the time, it was used for its cough-suppressing and calming properties before regulations on narcotics were tightened. Pharmacists used this term to refer to opium, a powerful drug, without alarming their customers. Marketing ahead of its time!

It also contains Norwegian tar, eucalyptus oil and menthol, intended to treat asthma, flu and hoarseness.

Origin: Salmon’s Pharmacy in Melun.

Let’s take a closer look at the opium dosage, as it is recommended to take 12 lozenges containing 1.6 mg of opium per day.

Consuming 12 lozenges a day equates to 19.2 mg of opium, which was at the upper limit of the standard therapeutic doses of the time for pain relief. Such a dosage inevitably induced a sedative effect and a mild sense of euphoria in the patient.

However, the Thebaic extract also contained around 10% morphine, meaning the patient was ingesting nearly 2 mg of pure morphine daily. Although not fatal, this dose was sufficient to create a genuine dependency if treatment was prolonged beyond a few days.

Despite the 1916 law regulating narcotics, opium remained ubiquitous in folk remedies. Its effectiveness as the world’s best cough suppressant justified, according to the standards of the time, the patient’s drowsiness, which was considered a secondary benefit promoting rest.

However, the dosage for children, of 5 to 6 lozenges, represented an intake of 8 to 10 mg of opium. This dosage, now considered extremely dangerous for young people, illustrates the radical nature of old pharmaceutical formulations that were eventually banned.

Dimensions: 8.5x6cm

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