Distribution of Quinine in Jhelum District in 1930

To the Edilor, The Indian Medical Gazette. Sir,?Since the coming into existence of the newly organised Punjab Public Health Department in 1923 extensive and elaborate arrangements have been made, from year to year, for the distribution of quinine free of cost for the relief of the malaria-stricken people in almost all the districts of the Punjab. Previously also it was the custom to distribute quinine gratuitously. Since quinine is a Western drug the use of it, like other drugs, could not be made popular except by this method of free distribution. The result of this method in some areas has been that quinine has become very popular; in those in which a conscientious interest was taken by the officials distributing quinine the people simply clamour for quinine during the malaria season, but in others on the other hand quinine ia simply hated as is the distributor of quinine. In Jhelum it was considered that enough trial has been given to the method of free distribution of quinine and that it was high time that people should start paying for quinine, the value of which had been demonstrated to them from year to year. Accordingly it was decided to organise the sale of quinine in the rural area of the Jhelum district. Centres were established in 80 villages; besides vaccinators, sanitary inspectors, the District Medical Officer of Health and the Deputy Commissioner sold quinine at cost price in the villages visited by them. Quinine was also kept for sale in the office of the District Medical Officer of Health, the district community council office and in the tahsil offices of Chakwal, Jhelum and Pind Dadan Khan. To make the sale of quinine attractive quinine was put up in pill boxes of different sizes containing 4, 8, 16 and 32 tablets, costing 1, 2, 4 and 8 annas, respectively. Each pill box carried on its top the picture of a mosquito, just to teach people that mosquitoes spread malaria. The sale of the quinine did not become at all popular because, firstly, it was the first year of the experiment of this type, secondly, people are not used to paying for medical aid, thirdly, there was not much malaria this year (I am sure all the quinine would have been sold if there had been an epidemic of malaria), and fourthly, most of the people are poor and some could hardly afford to purchase quinine. People still view the gratuitous distribution of quinine with suspicion; they think the Government is out to kill people with quinine tablets, as they kill dogs and rats with pills. I know personally cases in which quinine