The Medicated Society.

The Lowell Institute was founded early in the last century, and the first of the famous series of Lowell Lectures was given in 1840. In recent years the lectures have been broadcast and televised, and have been made available to a large audience. Medical subjects have been well represented, and a series of 12 lectures sponsored by the Tufts-New England Medical Center and entitled "The Medicated Society" was given in 1967. These lectures have now been published under the editorship of Samuel Proger.

The list of lecturers includes many eminent medical men, and the prevailing theme is immediately established in a revealing introduction by the editor. The facts are that approximately 1 billion prescriptions are filled every year for the American public. This is equivalent to about five prescriptions annually for every man, woman, and child in the country. The consumption of prescription drugs has doubled in the last decade,