A cocktail that’s too much of a good thing | Letters

Regarding the Brompton cocktail, a substance of heroin and cocaine that was utilized for terrible symptom successful terminally sick patients (Letters, 6 May), the Glasgow look was heroin, cocaine, gin, Largactil and honey. It could beryllium alarmingly effective. Many years ago, my precocious partner, faced with a diligent successful intractable pain, issued a medicine for the cocktail.

In the mediate of evening surgery, my spouse was called to an exigency astatine the section pub. The diligent had felt truthful overmuch better, helium decided to spell for a drink, and the operation of the Brompton positive the accepted “hauf an’ a hauf” (whisky and ale), had proved excessively much. He was carried location and told to instrumentality to brushed drinks.
Peter Waterson
Glasgow

As an excise serviceman successful the 1970s, I utilized to sojourn Huddersfield Royal Infirmary to authorise tone repayment claims connected excise work connected spirits utilized successful the mentation of Brompton cocktails. I uncertainty precise overmuch if akin visits are made nowadays, but it made the enactment of excise officers interesting.
John Garforth
Ilkley, West Yorkshire

I excessively was an apprentice pharmacist moving successful a pit colony successful the Yorkshire coalfield successful the aboriginal 1960s erstwhile we received a medicine for a Brompton cocktail with varied strengths of morphine and cocaine, unneurotic with whisky and chloroform water, for a antheral who we knew to beryllium terminally sick with lung disease.

The medicine was presented by his woman with the message: “And helium says tin helium person Johnnie Walker.” We complied of course!
Brian Sandall
Whitstable, Kent