Mount Sinai, New York City:—“The use of alcoholic beverages here for medical purposes is the exception rather than the rule. The majority of our cases are surgical cases, and in these alcoholic liquors are rarely prescribed for any purpose whatsoever.”
Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital, Boston, sent figures for five years. For 1904 the cost of alcoholic liquors was $197.69 with 3,720 patients; for 1908, the cost was $69.82 with 4,543 patients. The per capita cost for the five years is as follows: 1904, cost .0531 cents; 1905, cost .0474; 1906, cost .034; 1907, cost .0171; 1908, cost .0153.
In the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal of April 15, 1909, Dr. Richard C. Cabot gave a table showing the decrease in the use of alcoholic liquors, and of other drugs in Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
The following is his table:
| 1898 | 1899 | 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ale and Beer | $759.00 | $793.90 | $1,062.00 | $723.00 | $605.00 |
| Wines and liquors, | 1,563.00 ———— | 2,209.00 ———— | 1,348.00 ———— | 1,063.00 ———— | 799.00 ———— |
| Total for alcoholic drinks, | $2,321.00 | $3,002.00 | $2,410.00 | $1,786.00 | $1,404.00 |
| Total for other medicines, | $8,424.00 | $10,013.00 | $10,132.00 | $9,168.00 | $9,772.00 |
| Number of patients, | 5,005 | 5,203 | 5,012 | 5,495 | 5,342 |
| Cost of alcohol per patient, | $0.46 | $0.57 | $0.48 | $0.32 | $0.26 |
| Cost of medicine per patient, | 1.68 | 1.92 | 2.02 | 1.66 | 1.88 |
| 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ale and Beer | $338.00 | $431.00 | $301.00 | $192.00 | $203.00 |
| Wines and liquors, | 688.00 ———— | 904.00 ———— | 144.00 ———— | 546.00 ———— | 610.00 |
| Total for alcoholic drinks, | $1,026.00 | $1,335.00 | $445.00 | $738.00 | $813.00 |
| Total for other medicines, | $7,815.00 | $9,162.00 | $7,018.00 | $5,981.00 | $5,492.00 |
| Number of patients, | 5,429 | 5,709 | 5,531 | 5,513 | 5,966 |
| Cost of alcohol per patient, | $0.19 | $0.23 | $0.09 | $0.13 | $0.13 |
| Cost of medicine per patient, | 1.43 | 1.60 | 1.26 | 1.00 | 0.92 |
Dr. Cabot says:—
“Since there has been no fall in the price of stimulants or medicine, the diminished expenditure corresponds to a diminution in the number of doses of medicine and stimulants, and indicates a rapid and striking change of view among the members of the staff of the hospital, especially in the past five years, when it has become generally known that alcohol is not a stimulant but a narcotic and that drugs can cure only about half a dozen of the diseases against which we are contending.
“There has been during this period no increase in the proportion of surgical cases among the whole number treated, so that the decreased use of medicines and alcoholic beverages has not resulted from an increased resort to surgical remedies. On the other hand, there has been a great increase in the utilization of baths (hydrotherapeutics), of massage, of mechanical treatment and of psychical treatment, all of which accounts no doubt for part of the falling off in the use of alcohol and drugs.”