1900 — Original caption: This advertisement from a 1900 magazine juxtaposes two pharmaceuticals which have since achieved distinct images in the public mind: Heroin and aspirin. Bayer introduced heroin in 1898 as a cough suppressant that did not have the harmful effects of other opiates. Heroin is an acetylated product of morphine, just as aspirin is an acetylated product of salicyclic acid. Aspirin was produced in the same Bayer laboratories and released to the public a year later. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
Toria's Tales 