Institute of Pharmacology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, D-30625, Hannover, Germany.
Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2024 Sep;397(9):7089-7102. doi: 10.1007/s00210-024-03103-w. Epub 2024 Apr 21.
As there is lack of research on how drugs are presented in crime literature, we read nearly 25,000 pages of crime literature written between 1890 and 2023 to provide an overview on the pharmacological content in this genre. Correct presentation of pharmacological information decreased over time. Misconceptions about certain substances, especially narcotics and anesthetics appear in many of the analyzed examples. Also, in comparison with crime TV series, books are inferior in providing the reader with additional information and pharmacological plausibility. This especially applies for the newer books which contained less additional information than the older ones. In contrast, some books educate their readers. Newer books show a greater variety of substances also introducing recently developed drugs or new ways of application. On the contrary, older books stick to a small selection of well-known substances during that time, especially metals like arsenic and toxins like strychnine. Gender involvement in poisoning is not realistically presented in the novels. Male victims are overrepresented compared to reality. Also, the etiology is commonly presented incorrectly. Poisoning by accident or for suicidal purposes are rarely presented in the novels, despite their significance in reality. Overall, crime novels educate but also misinform their readers. We discuss the consequences of our findings for the individual reader and public health.
由于缺乏关于毒品在犯罪文学中呈现方式的研究，我们阅读了近 25000 页 1890 年至 2023 年间创作的犯罪文学作品，以提供该流派中药理学内容的概述。随着时间的推移，对药理学信息的正确呈现有所减少。许多分析案例中都出现了对某些物质（尤其是麻醉品和麻醉剂）的误解。此外，与犯罪电视剧相比，书籍在为读者提供额外信息和药理学合理性方面有所欠缺。对于较新的书籍来说尤其如此，它们提供的额外信息比旧书籍少。相比之下，有些书籍会教育读者。较新的书籍展示了更多种类的物质，还介绍了最近开发的药物或新的应用方式。相反，旧书籍在那个时期只局限于少数几种广为人知的物质，尤其是砷等金属和士的宁等毒素。小说中对性别在中毒事件中的参与情况并没有真实呈现。与现实相比，男性受害者的比例过高。此外，病因通常也不正确。尽管意外中毒或自杀中毒在现实中很重要，但在小说中很少提及。总的来说，犯罪小说既教育读者，也会误导读者。我们讨论了这些发现对个体读者和公共卫生的影响。
