Ether drinking in Russia

The habit of ether drinking is extremely prevalent in some parts of Russia as of East Prussia, and all the efforts of the authorities to combat the evil have hitherto been almost fruitless. An idea of the extent to which the habit prevails may be gathered from reports given in the Russian newspapers of a recent accident which occurred at a place called Trossno. Ether is drunk by farmers on festive occasions, when it appears to be consumed in pailfuls. A farmer celebrating his son's wedding, in the fullness of his hospitality, got in two pails of ether. During the process of decanting the ether into bottles a violent explosion took place, by which six children were killed, and one adult was dangerously, and fourteen others more or less severely, injured. (BMJ 1903;i:98)