Whilst Steve Was At Our Home Last Night,

a film was playing in the background,

titled From Hell, it was a story of Jack the Ripper, well during the story, reference, well actual use, was shown of laudanum being used, so what is laudanum? photograph Wellcome Images, while the qualities of opium have been known for centuries, and the name "laudanum" was used in the 1500s, it was English physician Thomas Sydenham who formulated the opium tincture that became a sensation under the name laudanum in the 1660s. As time passed, any combination of alcohol and opium was called laudanum, and it was used alone or as an ingredient in other medicines. As you can imagine, laudanum became a popular remedy for anything, because it relieved pain and made one care less about other symptoms. It didn't cure anything, but then neither did other medications of the time, 

one reason that laudanum was popular was that it was cheaper than a bottle of gin or wine because it was not taxed like alcohol. Besides being cheap and readily available, people touted its abilities to relieve pain and there were also claims that it improved the body’s systems. It was thus widely prescribed for all sorts of ailments from colds to yellow fever and from menstrual cramps to cardiac diseases and because of all its supposed benefits it was also found frequently in patent medicines.

those who took laudanum quickly discovered that it had addictive qualities. Still it seemed as if every Victorian doctor was prescribing it to every patient, while laudanum relieved pain, it also caused addiction, overdose, and was sometimes used in murder, you can read about the rise and fall of laudanum, which is a fascinating read, including the experiences of famous people who took it, and of all groups, children! at Geri Walton's blog, not that I advocate it, but it apparently was often given to kids, to keep them quiet!