In response to a request, the Bristol-Myers Company sent a copy of the bacteriologic investigations of Ziratol, said to have been made by the Lederle Laboratories. The organisms employed for these tests were Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus albus, Streptococcus, Green pus bacillus, B. coli, and saliva. No tests are given with the typhoid bacillus. The conclusion is reached that “in all the tests the solutions of Ziratol have several times greater killing efficiency than those of phenol.” The “coefficients” or comparative values which can be calculated from the results after exposure of 15 minutes to the disinfectants range from 2.0 to 4.0. This is in substantial accord with the referee’s findings as regards the phenol-coefficient with B. typhosus as the test object. While the new advertising circular avoids the former claim that Ziratol is ten times more efficient than carbolic acid, in germicidal value, it still makes the unwarranted claims that Ziratol is the “universal disinfectant.”
The Council declared Ziratol inadmissible to New and Nonofficial Remedies (1) because its composition is secret (Rule 1); (2) because the phenol coefficient, determined according to the method of the Hygienic Laboratory, U. S. P. H. S., is not stated on the label (Rule 2); (3) because the label and the circular accompanying the trade package advises its use by the public as a “vaginal douche” (Rule 3); and (4) because the claim that Ziratol is the “universal disinfectant” is exaggerated and unwarranted (Rule 6).
Before authorizing publication of the preceding report the Council submitted it to the Bristol-Myers Company in order to give that company the opportunity of revising its method of marketing Ziratol. In reply the company enlarged on its withdrawal (on “our own initiative”) of the claim that Ziratol had a phenol-coefficient of over ten when this claim was shown to be incorrect “by authoritative sources.” One wonders whether this is a euphemistic reference to the proceedings of the federal authorities under the Insecticide Act against the Bristol-Myers Company, just made public,[121] because of the false claims made for the germicidal efficiency of Ziratol. This prosecution resulted in the seizure and condemnation of two lots of this proprietary which had passed in interstate commerce.
The Bristol-Myers Company in replying to the Council’s report made no offer to declare the exact composition of Ziratol, to state the actual phenol-coefficient, or to remove the other objections pointed out in the report of the Council. In other words, the Bristol-Myers Company has abandoned a definite but false claim of high germicidal power—a claim which subjected the firm to federal prosecution—and has substituted therefor indefinite statements which do not define the actual germicidal efficiency of Ziratol.—(From The Journal A. M. A., Oct. 6, 1917.)
GONOSAN
Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry
The Council has adopted the following report on Gonosan and authorized its publication.
W. A. Puckner, Secretary.