Title
Dr. R. Schiffmann’s Asthmador Cigarettes
Author
R. Schiffmann Co. (Los Angeles, California)
Image
Description
Asthmador Cigarettes were a curious and controversial early 20th-century remedy for asthma attacks. Marketed by Dr. R. Schiffmann Co. of Los Angeles, California, this product contained stramonium and belladonna, both members of the nightshade family with potent anticholinergic properties. The instructions encouraged patients to smoke one or two cigarettes, taking deep inhalations to relieve the distress of “bronchial asthmatic paroxysms.”
Sold in packs of 24 for 60 cents, these cigarettes contained no tobacco. Instead, the active alkaloids (0.26% to 0.35%) were believed to relax bronchial spasms. In reality, the harsh smoke and toxic ingredients made this remedy as risky as it was bizarre, illustrating a fascinating moment in medical history when smoking was not only socially acceptable but also marketed as a treatment.
Condition
This pack remains intact, with its original green and red box and all 24 rolled cigarettes still inside. The paper packaging shows only mild wear consistent with age. The instructions and bold marketing claims are clearly legible.
Gallery
Historical context
Asthmador products, introduced in the late 19th century, were sold both as powders for burning or inhalation and as ready-made cigarettes. They were widely advertised in pharmacies and medical journals well into the 1930s–40s. While many sufferers reported temporary relief, modern medicine recognizes that these preparations were unsafe and ultimately ineffective compared to true bronchodilators that later emerged.
Curious Facts, Ephemera, and Trivia
The pack promised a money-back guarantee if relief was not obtained.
Asthmador was also sold in powder and pipe mixture forms, making it versatile for different methods of inhalation.
The reliance on belladonna alkaloids foreshadowed later pharmaceutical anticholinergics still used in asthma therapy today—though in safer, controlled forms.
This product is often cited in discussions of “quack” or fringe medicine, yet it reflects genuine desperation in an era with few effective asthma treatments.
Excerpt
From the box instructions:
“Expel the air from the lungs, then fill the mouth with smoke and take a deep breath, thus drawing the smoke far down into the lungs. Hold a few seconds, then exhale, partly through the nostrils.”
Why it is in the Cabinet
This item exemplifies the strange intersection of tobacco-style products and medical therapeutics in the early 20th century. It represents both the ingenuity and recklessness of a time when relief was sought at any cost, and when smoking was seen as medicinal rather than harmful.
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