Napoleon and Arsenic

[admin tim]

http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/napoleon/c_junkie.html

[SirRobertAnderson]

As Caz has said many times, it might have been Maybrick's going off arsenic whilst bed-ridden that killed him.

Notes

1. Concerning arsenic eating, Chambers Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Art, 1885 states, "When a man has once begun to indulge in it he must continue to indulge; or, as it is popularly expressed, the last dose kills him. Indeed the arsenic eater must not only continue his indulgence, he must also increase the quantity of the drug, so that it is extraordinarily difficult to stop the habit; for, as the sudden cessation causes death, the gradual cessation produces such a terrible heart knowing that it may probably be said that no genuine arsenic eater ever ceased to eat arsenic while life lasted."

[Mr. Poster]

hi ho

NOt wanting to be a wet blanket.....but these old descriptions of arsenic eating....I'm not exactly sure its a good idea to be putting too much fairth in them?

Bangladesh has and has had extreme problems with regular intake of low levels of arsenic among relatively large groups due to contaminated water supplies. They form the largest cohort on the planet for the study of arsenic intake and long term effects.

Indeed the arsenic eater must not only continue his indulgence, he must also increase the quantity of the drug, so that it is extraordinarily difficult to stop the habit

Now all these people are arsenic drinkers as opposed to eaters but very few of them display any evidence of being at all happy about their "habit" nor is there any evidence that they dont want to stop.

I'm not saying Maybrick wasn't eating arsenic.....but I'm a little dubious that arsenic was addictive to him in the true sense....I am more inclined to beleive that arsenic was just filling some hole in his psyche and it could equally have been any thing else at all. Psychologically I am sure it was a winner for him...but I am not convinced that arsenic was like any other drug.

because if it was, then all these Bangladeshis would be acting pretty much as if their water supply was contaminated with cocaine.....and that is certainly not the case.

p

[Chris G.]

As Caz has said many times, it might have been Maybrick's going off arsenic whilst bed-ridden that killed him.


Caz may have said it but I have also written the same thing on a number of occasions.

C

[SirRobertAnderson]

Caz may have said it but I have also written the same thing on a number of occasions.

C

My apology and post dated props to you as well.

I'm not saying Maybrick wasn't eating arsenic.....but I'm a little dubious that arsenic was addictive to him in the true sense....I am more inclined to beleive that arsenic was just filling some hole in his psyche and it could equally have been any thing else at all.

I think there is little question that Maybrick was heavily into arsenic. I do agree with the premise that it could have been anything else, in the sense that he was an addict, pure and simple. Well, not simple....

[Mr. Poster]

Hello Sir Bob

What bothers me is not whether or not Maybrick was eating arsenic.....but why since the, does arsenic not seem to be addictive?

As exemplified by wodges of people being exposed to arsenic and not being addicted?

Its not like if someone stuck cocaine in your water supply that you wouldnt become addicted.

And yet arsenic, as an addictive substance, seems to have dissappeared since that time.

And its not as if Maybrick wasn't aware it was poisonous. So why isn't it addictive today?

p

[Mr. Poster]

Hi ho

This is an interesting response to the question of whether of not arsenic is addictive on this forum (and answered by an expert chemist):http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-05/1085880825.Bc.r.html

You pose an interesting question. Apparently the use of arsenic in the 18th century has not been very widely documented. I did find a reference to it in a review of "The Pursuit of Oblivion: A global history of
narcotics," by Richard Davenport-Hines (W. W. Norton, publisher).
Apparently arsenic was believed to increase a gentleman's sexual potency.
This could lead to an unfortunate psychological addiction -- a desperate individual with strong feelings of inadequacy might be compelled to partake out of the drug out of an obsessive need to improve his performance.

Onemight think that shockingly short-sighted, but then, how many unhappy men in today's society eagerly purchase shady "generic viagra" from the
internet when those pills have an equal chance of being filled with
powdered sugar or rat poison?

Among the symptoms of arsenic poisoning I have noted in several references
"euphoria" and "delirium." A craving for these sensations might indeed
cause a person to become addicted to the drug, although it is difficult to
understand why. Other symptoms include severe abdominal pain, nausea and
vomiting, diarrhea, and a host of other very nasty things. Once again, one
might be shocked to imagine that someone would knowingly ingest a deadly
poison simply to get a cheap high, but today, we have some people who
engage in "huffing," or deliberately inhaling the solvent vapors from
aerosol paint cans. Huffing can also produce some of the symptoms seen
with arsenic poisoning, yet people still do it.

As for face whitening, that will not lead to a true addiction, unless one
assumes that being a slave to fashion is equivalent to an addiction. It
has been repoted that Elizabeth I of England used an arsenic-based cosmetic
to give her face its characteristic white appearance. Apparently she did
not ingest or absorb a sufficient amount to cause toxic effects.

Is anyone addicted to arsenic in modern times? It is possible, but I would
believe that such are few and far between. Arsenic has gained so foul a
reputation that most people panic at its very utterance. Wouldn't people
die before becoming addicted? Not necessarily. If they manage to stick to
small doses at first, such that they can experience the euphoric effects
without the unpleasant side-effect of death, they will happily try it again
and again and again. We see the same thing with huffing, as people do
it over and over, slowly taking in more and more of the toxin in the
pursuit of more potent "highs," until they inhale a lethal dose.

Which supports ny contention....that arsenic is not in itself addictive but fulfills a psychological need leading to psychological addiction.


But not addiction like one would expect from cocaine,

p

[Caroline Morris]

Hi Mr P,

I see what you are getting at re psychological as opposed to physical addiction.

But do you know what the deal is concerning tolerance of arsenic among users, which has to be physical? We are told that if the amounts are small enough to begin with and gradually increased, the body can end up tolerating a daily dose that would mean certain death for anyone else; and also that anyone taking these normally fatal doses will face death if they stop.

I've read that the worst damage is done as the poison is eliminated from the body, which can account for any lower than expected, ie non-fatal amounts found in the dead body of someone thought to have died from arsenical poisoning. In short, death by arsenic would be caused by an excess of the poison passing through and out of the body, therefore not showing up in tests on the corpse.

An obvious reason for the excess would be a single fatal dose, administered accidentally, suicidally or murderously to someone for the first and last time. But why can't the body of a chronic user cope when he stops taking it? Is death caused by the elimination of the final dose because it is now effectively an excessive one for a system that is no longer constantly replacing and processing the stuff? I know what I'm trying to say, but I'm finding it hard to express.

Love,

Caz
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