Tag: Historical pharmacology

In 1976, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outlawed the use of chloroform in medications, marking a significant turn for pharmaceutical safety. This shift was just one part of a larger trend affecting drug formulations, which dramatically changed **what was the cough medicine in the 70s** compared to previous decades. The era saw a move away from potentially dangerous or addictive ingredients towards the safer, more regulated formulations we use today.

In the acclaimed Netflix series *The Queen's Gambit*, fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon and the other girls in the Methuen Home orphanage are given mysterious green and white pills. These tranquilizers, which they call 'vitamins' but are later named 'xanzolam,' serve as a pivotal plot device and represent a real-world class of addictive sedative medications commonly used in the mid-20th century.

Originally invented in 1848 by Dr. J. Collis Browne to treat cholera in India, Chlorodyne became one of the most famous patent medicines in the British Isles [1.7.1, 1.4.1]. This article explores the question: **what is Chlorodyne used for** and examines its controversial history.