Bayer pharmaceutical company aggressively marketed literal heroin as a safe, non-addictive cough suppressant for children in the late nineteenth century.

A closer look

Bayer pharmaceutical company aggressively marketed literal heroin as a safe, non-addictive cough suppressant for children in the late nineteenth century. Long before they were just known for making aspirin, the German drug giant synthesized diacetylmorphine and branded it under the trademark name Heroin, selling it over the counter to parents whose kids had minor colds or respiratory issues. They literally produced bottles of hardcore narcotics and told stressed-out Victorian mothers that a quick spoonful would instantly quiet down their noisy toddlers. Looking back, it makes total sense why people in the old days seemed so unfazed by dying of dysentery at age thirty, considering the average household medicine cabinet was stocked with enough pharmaceutical grade smack to tranquilize a rhinoceros