Adding a splash of tonic water to gin is a habit that dates back hundreds of years.
That bitter after-taste of the quinine in the tonic gives the cocktail a very distinct flavour, but given that quinine is toxic, why do we add it in at all?
The answer dates back to the 1800s when the first gin and tonic was invented by a British officer in India.
Back then the only way to combat malaria was by taking quinine, an anti-malaria drug produced using the bark of the South American cinchona tree.
The quinine tonic was difficult to take on its own as it tasted extremely bitter, so the officer began adding it to his glass of gin instead.
he habit stuck with the drink of gin & tonic gaining the popularity it has today. However, nowadays, you would need to drink at least 20 litres of today’s diluted gin & tonics to get any kind of antimalarial effect.
Quinine is still used to treat malaria but only in cases where the pathogen has developed a resistance to other medications.
That’s because the side effects of quinine include thrombocytopenia, that can cause internal bleeding and permanent kidney damage, and there is evidence of it causing blindness.
The Food and Drug Administration also banned the drug from being used to treat leg cramps as up to one in 25 patients were suffering bad effects.
The small amount of quinine in tonic is safe for most, but for some people even a tiny amount can cause thrombocytopenia, allergies and sensitivities, a condition that has been dubbed ‘gin and tonic purpura’.
Pregnant women should also avoid gin and tonics as there is some evidence that it can pass through the uterus and sometimes cause birth defects.
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