I heard about this at least a decade and a half ago, and I've looked into it several times over those years.  I feel the connection between aspirin and the "epidemic" referred to as the flu deaths of 1918 are very much warranted.

A good explanation here:

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/06/homeopathic-remedies-for-influenza.aspx

The CDC and the FDA are still trying to scare the pants off of everyone today, about the flu and it's horrors, even though their numbers are so inflated as to make them laughable.  Here, take a look:

"Every fall and winter, the media begins pumping stories about why you should be afraid, even very afraid, of the flu. Since 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asserted that between 12,000 and 56,000 people have died from influenza every year.

In actual fact, according to one of the most respected medical journals in the world, the annual death rate from influenza in the USA is closer to 1,000. *1"

Sources and References:

• *1 Cochrane Community, January 29, 2018

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Also, if you're REALLY interested in the history of things regarding the "up and coming" of drugs into the *modern world*, please order the kindle version or the hardcover version of the book called Hell's Cartel.  It covers the long and sordid history of the IG Farben company which is now Bayer.  It will open your eyes to MANY things you didn't know about drugs because they didn't want you to know, from their lying marketing practices to the people involved.  If you're keen on learning, you'll love this book.  If you want to learn marketing from the best liars in the world, this is the book for you, too!