A NOTE ON "CHANDU.

"

To the Editor of "The Indian Medial Gazette."

used in opium
gIR ?Ghandu is a preparation of. opium
about
smokin". I have been unable to find any statements it
either its mode of preparation or the percentage of opium
be demanded
contains. As information on these points may
it may be of use to put on record the following
by magistrates
fcLCtS
*?

den is of interest. It will

A visit to a c/tandw-smoking
usually be found to be situated unobtrusively in some obscure
corner of the town
and in very rudimentary sanitary
be found in most
surroundings. The smokers of chandu will
to the lowest and poorest classes.
cases to belong
Products of India, it is
In the Dictionary of the Economic
is smoked; but tlie actual
mentioned that chandu omitted.
method of preparation is Again in the Dictionary
there is a description of the
of Applied Chemistry by Thorpe,
method practised in China. The Indian method about to be
from that used in China.
described does not differ much of this preparation, the
And as regards the actual smoking
"of both the Eastern countries are almost
practices
identical.
lioio" chandu" is prepared ?Bazar opium, say, a tola
is mixed with half its quantity of
of it is taken. This
the burnt
inchi and water. Inchi is merely resembles the opium
which clogs the pipe. It probably opium
"dross"?the scrapings of the opium-pipe referred to in the
It is taken out only when
Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. A pleasant flavour to
collected.
a sufficient amount
is
the addition of inchi The
chandu is said to be imparted by
and filtered through a cloth. The
whole is thoroughly boiled
To do so the liquid is poured into
filtrate is then decanted.
another vessel, the stream of liquid being caused to flow
felt (numbda) in order to
over a small piece of loose The
retain any solid particles. liquid is now concen-
it is of a syrupy consistency
trated by means of heat. When
it is removed off from
the fire.., The whole is well mixed by
means of a small pestle.
It is now ready for smoking. It may
not find a place in the Chinese
be added that inchi does
preparation (vide Dictionary of Applied Chemistry).
of this dark
How it is smoked in India .?A small quantity
The keeper of the den or
brown syrup is poured into cup.
a
of a thin iron rod into the treacle-
his assistant dips one end
he dries the adhering chandu
like substance. Immediately
flame of a small oil lamp which is protected by
over the tiny
an earthen chimney. This operation
is repeated twice or
thrice in order to get a sufficient amount in the form of a pill
or goli on to the rod. The other end of rod is similarly
treated. In the meantime the habitug gets himself ready.
He lies in a convenient posture with the pipe in his hands.
This latter is simply a piece of wooden or metallic tubing
about 20 to 32 inches long. It is closed at one end. About
6 inches away from the closed end there is a side opening to
which is attached a closed cup made of earth or of stono with
a small opening in the centre.
The object of this opening is
to receive the chandu from the iron rod ; as soon as the
than before and
smoker is ready the pill is heated more
placed in the cup and the smokerand begins to inhale. Part of
the fume is drawn into his lungs part is expelled both by
the mouth and the nose. The inhalation of each pill lasts
only 2 or 3 seconds. With a new-comer even a single pill
The pro-
produces the effects of opium intoxication.
prietor sometimes offers pills gratis to new-comers in the
hope of gaining new customers.
It is said that an habitue can smoke about 20 pills at a
stretch. The cost of this number of pills is between 5 and 6
annas. The average dose is about 8 to 10 pills.
A tola of opium yields about \\ to 1? tolas of chandu.

Chemical Analysis.
A few of samples of chandu carried out in this
analyses
laboratory show the percentage of opium present to be about
33.
 418 THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE. [Nov., 1917.

Conclusions.
(1) Chandu is a dark-brown substance of sweetish aroma
akin to that of burnt jaggery or sugar.
('2) It is prepared from opium, inchi, and water. No oil is
added during boiling.
(3) It contains about 33 per cent, of opium.
(4) A microscopical examination of chandu shows the
presence of prismatic crystals similar to those found in
opium.
Yours, etc.,
Govt. Laboratory, ) B. DWAIIAKAN ATH SASTRIy
Pusa.
j L.Ag. /