About a year ago, the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry announced that “Aspirin-Bayer” had been deleted from New and Nonofficial Remedies while the scientific term acetylsalicylic acid was retained along with standards to insure its quality. The necessity for a standard becomes evident when it is remembered that acetylsalicylic acid is not yet an official drug, and its purity, therefore, is not subject to the control of the federal Food and Drugs Act. It is worth while at this time to remind physicians that several brands of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) have been found to comply with the standards set by the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry and have been admitted to New and Nonofficial Remedies.[261] These, of course, are thereby subject to the control of the federal law to conform to the standard to which they profess.
Leech’s report gives still greater weight to the suggestion that has been made for some time, viz., that physicians should describe acetylsalicylic acid under its scientific name rather than its proprietary name, even though, in the opinion of The Journal, the proprietary name, aspirin, has become common property since the expiration of the acetylsalicylic acid patent. Every consideration of public interest, of patriotism and of ordinary common sense should prompt physicians to specify acetylsalicylic acid in writing prescriptions.—(Editorial from The Journal A. M. A., April 13, 1918.)
Advertising Principles—Lay and Medical
The Journal has received two letters, one from a physician who had written to the New York Tribune protesting against an advertisement of “Aspirin (Bayer)” that appeared in the rotogravure supplement of a Sunday edition and the other the New York Tribune’s answer to the protest. The two letters make an editorial in themselves. Here is the letter of the physician—Dr. Edwin H. Shepard of Syracuse, N. Y.—which was addressed to the editor of The Journal:
“When a great daily newspaper takes a stand for honest advertising it seems worthy that acknowledgement should be made. On April 14 the illustrated Sunday supplement of the New York Tribune, together with many of the other papers of the country, published a duplicate of the enclosed advertisement of ‘Aspirin.’ Your own instructive editorial on ‘Acetylsalicylic Acid, or What’s in a Name?’ had appeared in the copy of The Journal of the day preceding.
“Believing in the sincerity of the Tribune in its effort for honest advertising, I sent them a copy of your editorial together with the page of advertisement, also calling attention to the statements in the advertisement which seemed questionable. Among the questionable matters in the advertisement were the statements, ‘The one genuine Aspirin,’ ‘No other is genuine,’ ‘That which is genuine possesses qualities of excellence never found in imitations,’ ‘For your protection ... every package and tablet is marked with the Bayer cross,’ ‘Your guarantee of purity,’ and ‘Refuse substitutes as they may prove ineffective and harmful.’
“The Tribune was requested to investigate into the standing of the Bayer company and its product. A few days later the enclosed letter was received from the paper’s Bureau of Investigations.”
And here is the New York Tribune’s answer, signed by R. R. Baer, assistant director of that paper’s Bureau of Investigations:
“We have your letter of April 14th, which was acknowledged on the 22nd, in re Aspirin. For your information: Our rotogravure supplement is printed a number of days in advance of the Sunday paper. When these copies which have already been printed are used, no further Aspirin copy will appear. This means a loss of some four pages.”
How many of the numerous medical journals that are still carrying the “Aspirin (Bayer)” advertising would make such a financial sacrifice for mere principle?—(From The Journal A. M. A., May 25, 1918.)