[sci.med] Aspirin abuse

bzs@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) (10/24/86)

Re: comment that Aspirin has a very low capacity for abuse.

I agree but just curious: Wasn't one of the killers in Truman Capote's
"In Cold Blood" an 'aspirin addict'? Did Capote make this up out of
whole cloth or are there such people? I also remember more than a few
people (not people, teen-agers) using Aspirin to attempt suicide when
I was that age. Perhaps in this case tho the Aspirin was a good thing
as none of them died, just got pretty sick to the stomach (I know it's
possible to OD on aspirin, but I guess it's hard.)

	-Barry Shein, Boston University

P.S. I also suspect if there do exist aspirin addicts they are rare.
P.P.S. I use the word 'addict' here loosely, habituated, whatever.