Opium and infant-sedation in 19th century England

Infant cordials containing opium were commonly used in Victorian England to quieten babies and young children. The cordials were freely available and sold under a variety of brand names. JANET BRIAN describes the slow progress towards legislative control of the sale of opium and its use in infant cordials, in which opposition from the pharmacy lobby and government reluctance to lose income from the lucrative opium trade played a major part.