Bex (compound analgesic)

Bex was a strong compound analgesic which was popular in Australia for much of the 20th century. It came in the form of APC (aspirin–phenacetin–caffeine) tablets or powder, containing 42% aspirin and 42% phenacetin plus caffeine.[1]

Beckers Ltd - outside view of Bex building

Bex was a product of Beckers Pty Ltd, originally based at Pym Street, Dudley Park, South Australia,[2] but which relocated to Sydney in the 1960s.[3] It was advertised with the phrase, "Stressful Day? What you need is a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down".[4] Bex powders, as well as other APC products such as Vincent's, were particularly seen as the housewife's drug of choice in the 1950s and 1960s. However, it became recognised that these medications were addictive, and Priscilla Kincaid-Smith found that the large doses of phenacetin ingested by habitual users were responsible for widespread kidney disease.[4][5] The phenacetin was removed from Bex in 1975.[6] Bex has also been linked to kidney cancer.[7]

  1. ^ "Packet of Bex Powders". Powerhouse Museum, Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  2. ^ "Australian experience of analgesia in the mid 20th century". South Australian Medical Heritage Society Inc. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Beckers Pty Ltd". The Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b Morrow, Claire (1 October 2009). "The dangers of self-medicating: mother's little helpers don't always have a desirable effect, warns Claire Morrow. (Feel Life: Health)". Investigate. 9 (105). Howling at the Moon Publishing Ltd: 76(2). ISSN 1832-2794. Stressful Day? What you need is a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down. So the advertising went, in the days of powders. When I worked in aged care it was not uncommon to come across an elderl ....
  5. ^ "Bex Powders". School of Medical Sciences UNSW. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Curbs on Analgesics Likely". The Canberra Times. John Fairfax Ltd. 20 June 1975. p. 3. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  7. ^ Dunlevy, Sue (29 August 2014). "Cancer Council NSW: Bex powder killed more than pain". news.com.au. News Corp Australian Network. Retrieved 31 March 2018.