Know What It Is?

Is the photograph below familiar? Do you know what the various items in the wooden case are?

Pictured above is a medical instrument kit known as tobacco smoke enema which was used in the U.S.A. in the 1750s [until about 1810].

Tobacco smoke enema was a medical treatment introduced in America in the mid-1700s. Tobacco smoke was infused into a patient’s rectum using the tobacco smoke enema kit [pictured above] for various medical purposes, but it was primarily used in the resuscitation of a drowning [near-drowning] victim.

A rectal tube inserted into the anus was connected to a fumigator and a bellow [or pump] which forced tobacco smoke into the rectum. It was claimed that the warmth of the smoke stimulated respiration. However, the treatment's highly questionable effectiveness and reliability gave rise to the derogatory phrase “blowing smoke up one’s ass".

In 2011, the concept of "blowing smoke up one's ass" was literally enacted and signed into law commonly referred to as "ObamaCare" which is claimed to supposedly help improve the health care delivery system in the United States of America.