(Music...trumpets) Today's episode ... The American Chamber of
Horrors. In the 1920s and '30s, hundreds of women purchased
a cosmetic eyelash and eyebrow dye that advertisements promised would help them "radiate
personality." Sadly, the product, marketed as "Lash Lure,"
contained a poison that caused ulceration of the
corneas and degeneration of the eyeballs, which could lead to blindness and in at least
one case, death. "Like many cosmetics of the time, Lash Lure
was not tested for safety and did not disclose ingredients, so consumers had no way of knowing
the danger it posed to their health. And the
FDA could not remove unsafe products like Lash Lure from the market because the
existing law, the Pure Food and Drugs Act did not apply to cosmetics." Today's tale from the FDA history vault recalls
how, in the mid-1930s, the FDA helped educate the public about the shortcomings of the 1906
act, this information that would play an important role
in the enactment of new consumer protections contained in the landmark 1938 Food Drug and
Cosmetics Act. For a public health agency like the FDA, the
early part of the 20th Century was a troubling time. Dozens of harmful products like Lash Lure
remained on the market. The Great Depression
created additional problems, causing many poor Americans to avoid expensive doctors,
and rely on worthless and dangerous medicines that
skirted regulatory authority. Problems also existed in the food industry,
where the use of deceptive packaging short-changed consumers and ingredients were deceptively
substituted into products as basic as peanut butter
and jelly. A popular book of the day claimed that consumers
were being used as guinea pigs in a giant experiment by food companies and makers of
patent medicines. The authors blamed the FDA for
failing to act, but didn't recognize the limits of the agency's authority under the law at
the time. The agency DID have the power to educate consumers
and policymakers - and it used this power to shine a light on the dangerous product
in the marketplace. The FDA's new Chief Education Officer, a former
advertising executive named Ruth Lamb, and its Chief Inspector, George Larrick, organized
a traveling exhibit of many of the fraudulent, deceptive and dangerous products then on the
market. More than 100 products were featured,
including medical products, human and animal foods, and cosmetics. It appeared at events like the 1933 World's
Fair in Chicago, at state fairs across the country, and
on Capitol Hill. The exhibition was so shocking it was dubbed
the "American Chamber of Horrors" by a reporter who accompanied First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to
view the exhibit. The name stuck. The effort to enact a new law was supported
by Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Rex Tugwell,
and many congressional wives and women's organizations that mobilized their members. It even led Mrs. J.W. Musser, who had been blinded through the use
of Lash Lure, to travel to Washington to meet with members of Congress. In 1936, Lamb also published a popular book
entitled "American Chamber of Horrors." As one
reviewer wrote, "Miss Lamb has had a ringside seat in the 'American Chamber of Horrors. The
book tells the truth without embellishment and is not only an indictment of present conditions,
[but] it offers a definite basis for immediate legislative action." Indeed, as Lamb explained, "All
of these tragedies ... have happened, not because Government officials are incompetent
or callous, but because they have no real power
to prevent them." The exhibit, which was viewed by millions,
was an enormous success, helping promote greater awareness and understanding about the FDA's
role in protecting the public and the need for
greater consumer protection. To this end, it played an important role in
moving Congress to enact a stronger food and drug law - the 1938
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. That law, along
with many amendments over the years, remains the law of the land today. Many of the products from the historic Chamber
of Horrors exhibit are part of the FDA's history vault, and during this anniversary year of
the 1938 law are on display at the FDA, providing a
compelling visual record of the FDA's continuing and expanding efforts to protect and promote
American health. We hope you've enjoyed your visit to the vault! (Music)