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In the Roaring Twenties, amid a fascination with all things new and scientific, a so-called “miracle water” called Radithor captivated the public. Marketed as a cure-all for everything from fatigue to impotence, it promised vitality and boundless energy. But for American millionaire and prominent golfer Eben Byers, this seemingly magical elixir became a poison that would lead to a slow and agonizing death, a case that would forever change the face of medical regulation.

Eben Byers, a wealthy and well-known socialite, began consuming Radithor in 1927 after suffering a minor arm injury. Convinced by the glowing testimonials and the claims of the tonic’s creator, he began to drink a bottle a day, and sometimes more, for several years. He believed the distilled water, infused with radium, was a source of endless health and vigor.

What he didn’t know was that the very substance he believed was healing him was, in fact, destroying his body from the inside out. The radium in the tonic accumulated in his bones, leading to a host of horrific symptoms. His teeth began to fall out, his bones softened, and holes started to form in his jaw. The constant radiation exposure eventually caused his skull to disintegrate and his body to waste away.

By 1932, his condition had deteriorated so severely that he was a public spectacle of the dangers of unregulated quackery. When he died, his body was so radioactive that he had to be buried in a lead-lined coffin to prevent radiation from seeping into the surrounding ground.

The shocking details of Eben Byers’s death became a national scandal. His case was a wake-on-up call to the public and to lawmakers, exposing the grave dangers of the burgeoning patent medicine industry. The publicity surrounding his tragic end directly led to stricter regulations on the marketing and sale of medical products. The new rules, championed by the Federal Trade Commission and later the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), marked a crucial turning point, helping to ensure that such a tragedy would not happen again and proving that the quest for health should not come at the cost of one’s life.