This week’s episode is all about what happens when snake oil salesmen become doctors in dangerous ways. These pseudo doctors became a main reason the FDA was formed and given teeth to go after harmful medicine. Today we are going to talk about the dangerous medicines of the 1800s and early 1900s. We will also discuss some of those medications that have stuck around to today.

The Formation of the FDA

In the late 1800s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had a special division assigned to investigate food fraud and pharmaceutical claims. The Division of Chemistry in the USDA later became the Bureau of Chemistry. Harvard Washington Wiley was appointed Chief Chemist in 1993. Wiley became a major activist for food and drug regulation. 

The public supported these movements due to journalists that did their part to get the horrors of food and drug production out to the general public. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, was one of these major publications during this time. I also have to add that it is a horrifying book about the meat packing industry.

In 1901 a diphtheria vaccine that had been developed was tainted with tetanus. These vaccines were distributed and led to the deaths of 12 kids in Missouri. This, and other incidents like it, led President Theodore Roosevelt to sign the Pure Food and Drug Act into law in 1906. This law was also known as the “Wiley Act” because of Wiley’s activism. This act formed the Food and Drug Administration. 

Pure Food and Drug Act

This act gave the government and law enforcement some teeth in handling allegations regarding food fraud and false claims made by those who produced patent medicine. The act prohibited the interstate transport of food that had been adulterated. There were similar penalties for adulterated drugs where the strength , quality or purity of the active ingredient wasn’t clearly listed on the label. However, they still lacked the authority to do much more than that. 

If you remember back to last week’s episode, the Bureau of Chemistry examined Snake Oil and concluded that it had violated the Food and Drug Act because it contained no actual snake oil. 

Journalists and consumer advocacy groups continued their relentless assault on products that were allowed under the 1906 legislation, but were in reality quite dangerous to humans. There were worthless cures for diabetes and tuberculosis, a mascara lash lure that caused blindness and I’m not kidding you, radioactive drinks. However, none of these complaints were able to produce legislation with enough support to get through congress. However, that all changed in 1937.

Snake Oil Salesmen At Their Worst: Elixir Sulfanilamide

In 1937 the S. E. Massengill Company created their own preparation of sulfanilamide using diethylene glycol as the solvent. Diethylene glycol, or DEG, is poisonous to humans and other mammals. The company’s chief pharmacist and chemist, Harold Watkins, was not aware of this. Elixir Sulfanilamide was born.

Remember at the time there were no regulations on drugs and pharmaceuticals. There was no oversight from the government. Animal testing was not required by law before drugs were released, so these harmful effects weren’t widely known. Harold Watkins mixed raspberry flavoring into the drug and they were off to the races. 

In September 1937, the company began distributing the medication. By October 11, the American Medical Association received a report of several deaths related to this new medication. The Food and Drug Administration began an extensive search for a cause. They discovered that the DEG solvent was responsible for the f...