Human toxicology
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1 During the 19th century inadequate control of the sale of poisons, widespread illiteracy, and the English addiction to self-medication contributed to the high incidence of accidental poisoning by oxalic acid mistaken for Epsom salt. 2 Chemical methods for identifying oxalic acid failed when the product was adulterated. 3 Many mechanical devices were proposed to prevent careless dispensing; designs for poison bottles of distinctive shape, colour and texture appeared regularly for 40 years.