[Secret medicines]

Secret medicines had two characteristics: their formula remained unknown and they were prepared by many kinds of people. Before 1728 there were no general laws about these secret medicines but only peculiar rules. From 1728 to 1778, the King edicted rigorous rules in order to limit the number of secret medicines. Between 1778 and 1789, the law became more definite and the Royal Society of Medicine gave advices. The Law of Germinal An-XI forbid secret medicines but since 1805, some compromises took place. Slowly, secret medicines were replaced by pharmaceutics and new set of laws.