I beg to move the Second Reading of this Bill. Under the agreement entered into between the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland and Great Britain as to the registration and control of medical practitioners, and embodied in the Medical Practitioners Act, 1927, representatives of the Universities and Medical Corporations in Ireland, and representatives of the Registered Medical Practitioners in Ireland, continue to form part of the General Council of Medical Education and Registration. The British Pharmacopæia is prepared under the direction of this body. The Pharmacopæia is the list of medicines and compounds in most general use, particularly those whose safe and effective use requires that the manner of their preparation and the weights and measures in which they are to be mixed shall be precisely stated and followed. Under Section 30 of the Pharmacy Act (Ireland), 1875, it is an offence to compound any medicines mentioned in the Pharmacopæia except according to the formularies contained therein. As a result, however, of the passing of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1927, the Medical Acts of 1858 and 1886 have, with certain exceptions, ceased to have effect in Saorstát Eireann. I am advised that, as a result, we are without a Pharmacopæia having statutory application. This Bill proposes that the British Pharmacopæia shall be the Saorstát Eireann Pharmacopæia, subject to such modification as may be made therein by rule made by the Medical Registration Council set up for Saorstát Eireann under Section 3 of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1927.
Financial Resolutions. - Pharmacopæia Bill, 1931—Second Stage.
The Minister did not give very much explanation as to the necessity for this Bill. I suppose there is a necessity for it. I do not know what great use can be made of the Bill. The Minister did not indicate the forces that were brought to bear on the Government to get them to introduce this Bill or what use can be made of it. Most of the medicines prescribed under it will be in the British Pharmacopæia. I am sure that Deputies like Deputy Dr. Hennessy would be opposed to any great departure from the British Pharmacopæia. Seeing that a great number of our medical practitioners will have to seek a living in another land, if they are trained on the Pharmacopæia in use in the Free State, one that is altogether different from the British, it would be a great hardship on them if they were asked to emigrate afterwards.
On the next stage of the Bill I would ask the Minister to consider whether anything can be done to deal with the question of patent medicines. I believe it could be dealt with under the Bill. The Minister read the sections of the Principal Act that are being dealt with under this Bill. These sections talk of prescribing according to the formularies of the British Pharmacopæia and so on. We all know that patent medicines have departed altogether from the formularies of the British Pharmacopæia. A great claim is made on the public as to the cures that can be effected in the case of certain diseases by these patent medicines. Many people are deceived by the advertisements that appear. The result is that a great deal of money is spent on patent medicines. I think that something ought to be done on the Committee Stage of the Bill to deal with that matter. Under this Bill people are going to be prohibited from prescribing except according to the formularies of the Saorstát Pharmacopæia. We could also, I suppose, prohibit people from prescribing by advertising in the Press or otherwise, claiming that they can cure certain diseases and so on.
It is extraordinary, as one may gather from reading the newspapers, the value that is sometimes claimed for these patent medicines. For instance, if you have a pain in your back they have a patent medicine that will cure that no matter what the pain may be due to. A few days ago I was in a garage and a man asked me could I give him a cure for indigestion. I said to him:"If my car will not go can you tell me what is wrong with it without seeing it?' Of course, he could not. Neither could I prescribe for indigestion without examining him.
It is really not fair to allow the public to be duped by the advertisements that appear in connection with patent medicines. The public are being duped to a great extent. Certain of these medicines are used for different ailments and a great deal of money is lost. There may be one per cent. of bad cases in which there is an improvement as a result of their use. When news of that gets around it may be that another circle of people will, perhaps, believe in the remedy spoken of because there seems to be a slight improvement in the case of one sufferer. I would be glad if the Minister would consider that and see if anything can be done on the Committee Stage. I also want to point out to the Minister that there is a slight mistake in the Bill. I have looked up the authorities and find that in one of the enactments to be repealed it should be chapter 57 instead of chapter 59.
The point raised by Deputy Ryan with regard to patent medicines is rather far away from what we are dealing with here. What we propose to secure by this Bill is the setting up of a pharmacopæia for Saorstát Eireann. Taking the British Pharmacopæia as the basis, what we propose is that the Medical Registration Council here shall have power to build up their own pharmacopæia by any modifications they wish to make. I am afraid the Department of Local Government could hardly undertake, in a Bill of this kind, to go into the question of what should be said about patent medicines. When the Saorstát Pharmacopæia is properly established, and a responsible body set up for dealing with its extension and development, it might be asked to consider the position with regard to patent medicines. It might, on its own initiative, consider that question and make any observations that it wished to make.
The Pharmacopæia will deal with vaccines, therapeutics and substances generally. The question that the Deputy has raised is one that might quite properly come before the body I have referred to when it is set up. I think that if the Deputy further considers the matter he will see that nothing useful with regard to patent medicines could be done on this Bill. He will feel, I think, that the matter might very well be left to the Medical Registration Council after the Saorstát Pharmacopæia has been definitely established. I will have the amendment referred to by the Deputy verified and corrected.
There is one question I forgot to ask the Minister. This Bill proposes to amend the Pharmacy Act of 1875. Under that Act there was a provision dealing with registered chemists—for removing them from the register. I think there is no such provision now. I wonder could the Minister say what exactly is the position?
The position with regard to pharmacists generally is that a Bill is being drafted, and is at present under reconsideration by the pharmacists. It has for its object the institutionalising of the pharmacists, and the setting up of a professional council to deal with registration and the educational side of the pharmacy business. That has been worked out more or less on the lines of the Dentists Act. The matter that the Deputy refers to would more properly arise on that Bill when it comes before the House.