Pain and Profits: The History of the Headache and Its Remedies in the United States

Author: Janice Rae Rae McTavish
Published: August 2004
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813534402
Hardcover Book
Number of Pages: 240

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"A revealing exploration of the ways in which the linked histories of the pharmaceutical industry, government policy, and medical practice intersects with the everyday lives-and pain-of ordinary men and women. An important contribution to our understanding of an important but too often invisible aspect of modern life."-Charles E. Rosenberg, Ernst Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University"McTavish expertly weaves the interactions among patients, physicians, and pharmacists into a compelling story. Entertaining and insightful, Pain and Profits is a must read for all interested in the history of American pharmacy."-Gregory J. Higby, Executive Director, American Institute of the History of PharmacyPain and Profits tells the story of how a common ailment-the headache-became the center of a multibillion dollar pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Despite the increasing authority of the medical profession in the twentieth century, treatment of this condition has remained largely in the hands of the public. Using the headache as a case study, and advertising as a significant source of information, Jan McTavish traces the beginnings of the modern over-the-counter industry. The American pharmaceutical industry developed from nineteenth-century suppliers of plant-derived drugs for both professional and home care. Two branches of the industry evolved over time-the ethical branch, which sold products only with prescriptions, and the nostrum branch, which was noted for its energetic marketing techniques. At the end of the century, they were joined by German companies that combined a strong commitment to science withaggressive salesmanship. Since German drugs were both highly effective in treating headaches and commonly available, sufferers wanting quick relief could easily obtain them. The result was a new kind of "legitimate" pharmaceutical industry that targeted consumers directly. Historians of medicine as well as more general readers interested in the history of the headache will enjoy this fascinating account of the creation of the modern pharmaceutical industry.Jan R. McTavish is an assistant professor of history in the department of social sciences at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Using headaches in America as a case study, McTavish (history, Alcorn State U.) examines the history of the condition, the twin pharmaceutical industries that rose to treat it, and the differing interpretations of its occurrence by medical professionals and sufferers that lead to mutual distrust. She describes how one branch of the industry focused on sales through prescription, while the other sold straight to the consumer, a situation that became fluid as access and composition of drugs changed by law. She also describes the medical profession's attempts to control access to all drugs, and the resulting credibility gap between medical providers and consumers. The endnotes serve as a bibliography.

Table of Contents
1 The headache and its treatment in the nineteenth century 8
2 Drug supply in nineteenth-century America 27
3 Doctors and the drug trade 43
4 The remarkable synthetic drugs 64
5 Druggists, doctors, and the law 86
6 The Bayer company : drugs as big business 112
7 Did the headache finally meet its match? 134
8 The headache in the twentieth century 159

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