When I use a word . . . Medicines regulation—apothecaries, quacks, chemists, druggists, pharmacists

ApothecariesIn the 18th and 19th centuries, when the Medicines Stamp Acts were being passed,1 medical care other than surgery was available from a range of individuals. While poor people could consult cheaper practitioners, generally regarded as quacks, those who could afford to would consult a physician, whose prescription would be filled by an apothecary. The quality of the apothecaries’ goods was guaranteed by the power of the physicians, conferred upon them by Henry VIII, to inspect the goods and destroy any that were defective.2Apothecaries originally purveyed non-perishable commodities—spices, drugs, comfits, preserves, and the like. They were members of the Guild of Grocers, classed with pepperers and spicers, but they gradually focused on drugs for medicinal purposes, and by about the middle of the 14th century an apothecary was one who prepared and sold such drugs. However, they continued to be associated with the grocers until King James I granted the…
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