People are buying up Quinine supplements and leg cramp medication that has Quinine in it

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Quinine was first isolated in 1820 from the bark of a cinchona tree.[2][5][6] Bark extracts have been used to treat malaria since at least 1632.[7] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the safest and most effective medicines needed in a health system.[8] The wholesale price in the developing world is about US$1.70 to $3.40 per course of treatment.[9] In the United States a course of treatment is more than $200.[10]

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As of 2006, it is no longer recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-line treatment for malaria, and it should be used only when artemisinins are not available.[11][12][13][14] Quinine is also used to treat lupus and arthritis.

Quinine was frequently prescribed as an off-label treatment for leg cramps at night, but this has become less common due to a warning from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that this practice is associated with life-threatening side effects.

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Quinine is a flavor component of tonic water and bitter lemon drink mixers. On the soda gun behind many bars, tonic water is designated by the letter "Q" representing quinine.[22]

According to tradition, the bitter taste of anti-malarial quinine tonic led British colonials in India to mix it with gin, thus creating the gin and tonic cocktail, which is still popular today.[23] Nowadays, the amount of quinine in tonic is much lower and drinking it against malaria is ineffective. In the US, quinine is listed as an ingredient in some Diet Snapple flavors, including Cranberry-Raspberry.

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Because of the narrow difference between its therapeutic and toxic effects, quinine is a common cause of drug-induced disorders, including thrombocytopenia and thrombotic microangiopathy.[29] Even from minor levels occurring in common beverages, quinine can have severe adverse effects involving multiple organ systems, among which are immune system effects and fever, hypotension, hemolytic anemia, acute kidney injury, liver toxicity, and blindness.[29] In people with atrial fibrillation, conduction defects, or heart block, quinine can cause heart arrhythmias, and should be avoided.

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