"Nerves Need Nourishment": Advertising Phospho-Energon Pills in Early Twentieth-Century Sweden.

IF 0.9 3区 哲学 Q4 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences Pub Date : 2024-10-01 DOI:10.1093/jhmas/jrae033
Lauren Alex O'Hagan, Leif Runefelt
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Abstract

This paper offers the first case study of Phospho-Energon - an early twentieth-century Swedish patent medicine believed to cure nervousness. Using a large dataset of newspaper advertisements, it explores how the product was presented through scientific and medical language, which drew upon a range of visual and verbal rhetoric to convince consumers of its benefits. It finds that pseudoscientific discourse focusing on self-help was regularly used to sell Phospho-Energon, with consumers warned that their nerves were "not allowed to fail" and required "protection" in order to remain healthy. Furthermore, the "science" supporting this discourse gradually shifted over time as neurosis replaced neurasthenia as a diagnostic category and the concept of spring lethargy became popularised. Overall, this study argues that Phospho-Energon stands as an important example of how partial scientific/medical claims can be used as a rhetorical device to sell products to consumers looking for a quick-fix cure for their perceived mental health conditions.

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"神经需要营养":二十世纪初瑞典的磷精力丸广告。
本文首次对 Phospho-Energon 进行了案例研究--这是 20 世纪早期瑞典的一种成药,据信可以治疗神经衰弱。本文利用大量报纸广告数据集,探讨了如何通过科学和医学语言介绍该产品,并利用一系列视觉和语言修辞来说服消费者相信其益处。研究发现,Phospho-Energon 经常被用来推销以自我帮助为重点的伪科学话语,警告消费者他们的神经 "不允许衰竭",需要 "保护 "才能保持健康。此外,随着时间的推移,支持这一论述的 "科学 "逐渐发生了变化,神经衰弱取代了神经衰弱成为一种诊断类别,春困的概念也开始流行起来。总之,本研究认为,"磷-活力素 "是一个重要的例子,说明了部分科学/医学主张是如何被用作一种修辞手段,向那些希望快速治愈其认为的精神健康状况的消费者推销产品的。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 管理科学-科学史与科学哲学
CiteScore
1.00
自引率
0.00%
发文量
40
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Started in 1946, the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences is internationally recognized as one of the top publications in its field. The journal''s coverage is broad, publishing the latest original research on the written beginnings of medicine in all its aspects. When possible and appropriate, it focuses on what practitioners of the healing arts did or taught, and how their peers, as well as patients, received and interpreted their efforts. Subscribers include clinicians and hospital libraries, as well as academic and public historians.
期刊最新文献
Utopia of Safe Air: How Soviet Research Challenged Western Air Quality Norms, 1950s-1960s. "Nerves Need Nourishment": Advertising Phospho-Energon Pills in Early Twentieth-Century Sweden. Prescribing Information: Elizabeth B. Connell, the Pill, and the (Woman) Patient's Peace of Mind. The End of the Beginning? Temporality and Bioagency in Pandemic Research. Re-Writing Pandemic Histories: Introduction.
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