ASPIRIN Facts

“Successful medicines have something in common with stars: they have a meteoric rise and ‘stay in the limelight’ for a time before finally ending up in oblivion – because a new star is even more of a success. The life cycle of most modern drugs is short and is getting even shorter because medical and pharmaceutical research offers better remedies all the time. However, one drug runs counter to this trend and this is ASPIRIN, the chemical refinement of a natural remedy used for thousands of years.”

Sir John Vane FRS
Member of the Royal Society of Medicine
Co-laureate, Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 1982

History

The effects of ASA-like substances have been known since the ancient Romans recorded the use of the willow bark as a fever fighter. The leaves and bark of the willow tree contain a substance called salicin, a naturally occurring compound similar to acetylsalicylic acid (otherwise known as ASA), the chemical name for ASPIRIN.

The Birth of ASPIRIN

400 BC

Greek physician Hippocrates prescribes the bark and leaves of the willow tree (rich in a substance called salicin) to relieve pain and fever.

1832

A German chemist experiments with salicin and creates salicylic acid (SA).

1897

Chemist Felix Hoffmann, at Bayer in Germany, chemically synthesizes a stable form of ASA powder that relieves his father's rheumatism. The compound ASA is the active ingredient in ASPIRIN. The ASPIRIN name is a combination of "a" from acetyl, "spir" from the spirea plant (which yields salicin) and "in," a common suffix for medications.

1899

Bayer distributes ASPIRIN powder to physicians to give to their patients. ASPIRIN is soon the number one drug worldwide.

1900

Bayer introduces the first ASPIRIN in water-soluble tablets - the first medication to be sold in this form. This new product cut costs in half.

1915

ASPIRIN becomes available without a prescription. Manufactured in tablet form.

The Evolution of ASPIRIN: Effective Pain Relief

1920s

Used to treat symptoms of pain related to rheumatism, lumbago and neuralgia.

1952

Children's Chewable ASPIRIN is introduced.

1969

ASPIRIN tablets are included in the self-medication kits taken to the moon by the Apollo astronauts. ASPIRIN proves very effective in combating the headaches and muscle pains that frequently resulted from long periods of immobility.

Early 1970s

Medical world begins to understand how ASPIRIN works when scientists discover that it inhibits the production of chemicals, called prostaglandins, that are involved in inflammation and pain.

1998

ASPIRIN Coated for Arthritis Pain Relief (650mg) was introduced for relief of arthritic pain and joint pain.

Coated ASPIRIN is recommended by doctors where a certain level of ASA is required consistently. In these cases, use only under the supervision of a doctor.

ASPIRIN Extra Strength Helps Extinguish Fiery Pain.