Obetrol: "Use with caution in individuals with anorexia."

According to Nicholas Rasmussen’s book, On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine, the meth-laced diet pills Obetrol were Andy Warhol’s weight-loss tablet of choice. The medication was produced by a Brooklyn drug manufacturer, but meth’s usage as a diet aid waned during the 1980s. This 1970 ad features an illustration in which a ski instructor mocks a student whose obesity is causing him to sink. The instructor barks: “Either lose 45 pounds or wait for six more inches of snow!” The ad contains the following precautions:

“Use with caution in individuals with anorexia, insomnia, asthma, psychopathic personality, a history of homicidal or suicidal tendencies, or emotionally unstable individuals who are known to be susceptible to drug abuse.”

More Old Print Ads:

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• Dr. Hopkins’ Electric Hair Restorer. (1868)
• Showgirl Laxatives. (1901)
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• Panti-Legs. (1961)