Abstract
Introduction
Charles Lucas, apothecary, physician and MP, was instrumental in facilitating legislation in Ireland in 1765 that established a nationwide network of hospitals in Ireland. This legislation was unique in contemporary Europe, and by the end of the century, there was a hospital in every county in the country.
Materials and methods
His work as an apothecary provided him with the knowledge to attempt to address the problems in the apothecaries’ trade, and his 1741 pamphlet, Pharmacomastix, provided the framework for the 1761 Irish Apothecaries Act, which attempted to address these issues. It was, however, 1791 before nationwide regulation of the Irish apothecaries’ trade was implemented following the establishment of the Apothecaries Hall, and this was 24 years before similar regulatory legislation was passed in Britain. Lucas sought enhanced regulation of the apothecaries’ trade to provide better quality drugs and medicines for the general public, and he tried to ensure that untrained quacks did not practise as apothecaries, unbeknownst to their patients. He was aware that his proposals would meet with opposition, but he had the courage to pursue these without any element of personal gain.
Conclusion
In medical terms, Charles Lucas was man ahead of his time.
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References
Parliament. Session 1735. For preventing frauds and abuses committed in making and vending unsound, adulterated, and bad drugs and medicines. Statute number: 9 George II, chapter 10
Parliament. Session 1761. For preventing frauds and abuses in the vending, preparing and administering of drugs and medicines. Statute number: 1 George III, chapter 14
Lucas C (1741) Pharmacomastix: or, the office, use and abuse of apothecaries explained. Printed by S. Powell, for Abraham Bradley, Dublin
Mullaney S (2010) The 1791 IRISH Apothecaries’ Act. Eighteenth Century Irel J 25:177–190
Parliament. Session 1791. For the more effectually preserving the health of his majesty’s subjects, for erecting an apothecaries’ hall in the city of Dublin, and regulating the profession of an apothecary throughout the kingdom of Ireland. Statute number: 31 George III, chapter 34
Parliament. Session 1765. For erecting and establishing public infirmaries or hospitals in this kingdom [Ireland]. Statute number: 5 George III, chapter 20
Mullaney S (2012) ‘A means of restoring the health and preserving the lives of his Majesty’s subjects’: Ireland’s Eighteenth Century Infirmary System. Can Bull Med Hist 29:223–242
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Mullaney, S. Charles Lucas and medical legislation in eighteenth century Ireland. Ir J Med Sci 184, 555–556 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-015-1255-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-015-1255-z