2. The iodin is not present as elementary iodin, but instead the preparations behave similarly to the well-known organic iodin compounds such as iodized fats.
3. The therapeutic claims made for the preparations are exaggerated and unwarranted.
In view of his findings he recommended that Iodeol and Iodagol be declared inadmissible to New and Nonofficial Remedies for conflict with Rules 1 and 2 (misleading statements regarding composition and identification) and Rule 6 (unwarranted therapeutic claims). The Council adopted the recommendation of the referee, directing inclusion of the full report in the annual Council reports after submission to the manufacturer, and recommending publication of an abstract of this report in The Journal.
This report was brought to the attention of the American agent, David B. Levy, Inc., and through them to the French manufacturers, E. Viel and Company. The manufacturers have intimated that they will not file a reply to the report. The firm of David B. Levy, Inc., has decided to sever its connection with these products and to discontinue their sale.
W. A. Puckner, Secretary.
Summary of Referee’s Report
Iodeol and Iodagol were submitted to the Council nearly two years ago as “electro-colloidal iodine” and with the claim that they produced all the antiseptic and other effects of ordinary iodin without any of its side actions. The referee has done much work on the subject, conducted a large amount of correspondence and has contended with long delays. He feels that the consideration of these products should be brought to a conclusion and accordingly he submits this report of their consideration. The following is a summary of the report, which is appended:
I. Discrepancy in Iodin Percentage.—The examination at the Chemical Laboratory of the American Medical Association, as well as that of the referee, shows that the various samples of Iodeol and Iodagol examined contained a little less than one-half of the total iodin claimed. These facts were reported to the American agent. After a lengthy delay a reply was received which presented a double excuse: (1) that the full amount of iodin had been added, whatever had become of it later; (2) that the claims were made for “colloidal iodin” and that this is not elementary iodin in the colloidal state, but a preparation of iodin containing only 50 per cent. of real iodin. Neither explanation can be taken seriously, as they are obvious quibblings. The referee concludes that the preparations are falsely labeled as to iodin content.
II. Nature of the Iodin Compound in Iodeol and Iodagol.—In the information sent the Council, Iodeol and Iodagol were defined as “A suspension of electro-chemical colloidal iodin in a vehicle of purified oil.” Numerous inquiries have failed to elicit more specific information from the manufacturer or his agent. The statement of composition can mean only that the preparations contain free iodin (but in colloidal form) suspended in oil. No evidence to substantiate this claim has been submitted. (There is evidence that the preparations contain colloidal particles, but it does not indicate if this colloidal material is iodin, or a combination of iodin or indeed whether the colloidal component contains any iodin.) The recent statements of the agent seem to concede that what they call “electro-colloidal iodin” contains only about 50 per cent. of real iodin, in other words that it is not “colloidal iodin” at all, but a mixture or combination of iodin with some other unnamed substance. This, of course, is something very different.
Certain results reported from the American Medical Association’s Chemical Laboratory suggest that the so-called “colloidal iodin” of Iodeol may be a combination of iodin with a volatile oil. The investigations of the referee indicate that the iodin exists in a rather resistant form or combination behaving altogether differently from ordinary free iodin, and rather resembling the behavior of iodin substitution products, such as iodized fats or phenols. Briefly then the recent admissions of the agents indicate that Iodeol does not contain “colloidal iodin” in a chemical sense, and there are indications that it does contain its iodin in a rather firm (chemical) combination.