Many of our soft drinks contain narcotics. The use of the coca leaf
and the kola nut for such preparations has increased very greatly
within the last few years, and doubtless legislation will soon be
instituted against the indiscriminate sale of soft drinks.
242. Headache Powders. The stress and strain of modern life has
opened wide the door to a multitude of bodily ills, among which may be
mentioned headache. Work must be done and business attended to, and
the average sufferer does not take time from his vocation to
investigate the cause of the headache, but unthinkingly grasps at any
remedy which will remove the immediate pain, and utterly disregards
later injury. The relief afforded by most headache mixtures is due to
the presence of antipyrin or acetanilid, and it has been shown
conclusively that these drugs weaken heart action, diminish
circulation, reduce the number of red corpuscles in the blood, and
bring on a condition of chronic anemia. Pallid cheeks and blue lips
are visible evidence of the too frequent use of headache powders.
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