Take a somewhat imaginary scene in Switzerland at the turn of the twentieth century; people are strapping kilos of white powder to their bodies crossing the border, the alpine nation famed for it;s clocks and chocolate is the international hub for trade in this illegal substance.
But it’s not heroin or cocaine (both legal at the time) but what's now known as E954: the sweetener saccharin.
In 1913 a novel was written (Der Saccharinschmuggler [The Saccharin Smuggler] by Eduard Ehrensperger-Gerig) portraying the demonic powder as the new threat to society and all that was good.
The novel has a formerly respectable businessman, frustrated and impoverished by his business failures, carrying fifteen kilos of the white powder in packets strapped to his body across the border. In Prague, after sailing through customs, he gets on with his lucrative business. However he's soon turned into a liar and a villain and gradually tumbles down an abyss of corruption, malice, barbarism and animalistic brutality.
Anyone for some 'Sweet'n Lo'?
The trade was lucrative; coffins and candles, oranges and underwear were used to conceal the terrible menace.
Of course the restrictions (duties, bans and prescription) were far more about protecting sugar production interests than reality. Germany (where it had been invented) required a medical prescription for saccharin (unlike heroin, morphine or cocaine) and created "sweetener squads" to hunt down dealers.
The Swiss and Dutch didn't tax or ban the stuff, hence they led the illegal trade. In fact the 1902 annual report of the pharmaceutical company Sandoz stated that saccharin’s prohibition abroad created "favourable perspectives" for Basel (where they wee based). After 1906 saccharin was responsible for about one-third of the value of Swiss exports.
Alas for the lucrative smuggling trade the shortages of the Great War pretty much ended the illegal trade due to the removal of restrictions on saccharin.
But it’s not heroin or cocaine (both legal at the time) but what's now known as E954: the sweetener saccharin.
In 1913 a novel was written (Der Saccharinschmuggler [The Saccharin Smuggler] by Eduard Ehrensperger-Gerig) portraying the demonic powder as the new threat to society and all that was good.
The novel has a formerly respectable businessman, frustrated and impoverished by his business failures, carrying fifteen kilos of the white powder in packets strapped to his body across the border. In Prague, after sailing through customs, he gets on with his lucrative business. However he's soon turned into a liar and a villain and gradually tumbles down an abyss of corruption, malice, barbarism and animalistic brutality.
Anyone for some 'Sweet'n Lo'?
The trade was lucrative; coffins and candles, oranges and underwear were used to conceal the terrible menace.
Of course the restrictions (duties, bans and prescription) were far more about protecting sugar production interests than reality. Germany (where it had been invented) required a medical prescription for saccharin (unlike heroin, morphine or cocaine) and created "sweetener squads" to hunt down dealers.
The Swiss and Dutch didn't tax or ban the stuff, hence they led the illegal trade. In fact the 1902 annual report of the pharmaceutical company Sandoz stated that saccharin’s prohibition abroad created "favourable perspectives" for Basel (where they wee based). After 1906 saccharin was responsible for about one-third of the value of Swiss exports.
Alas for the lucrative smuggling trade the shortages of the Great War pretty much ended the illegal trade due to the removal of restrictions on saccharin.
via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/3aeRQ1a
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