Editing Gin and tonic (section)

== History ==
The cocktail was created by officers of the [[Presidency armies]], the military force of the [[East India Company]] which operated on the [[Indian subcontinent]]. On the Indian subcontinent and in other tropical regions, [[malaria]] was a persistent problem for Europeans, and in the 18th century, Scottish doctor [[George Cleghorn (Scottish physician)|George Cleghorn]] studied how [[quinine]], a traditional cure for malaria, could be used to prevent the disease.<ref>[https://www.malariasite.com/history-treatment/ The Malaria Site]. Retrieved 18 August 2019.</ref><ref name="Cleghorn"/> The quinine was drunk in tonic water but the bitter taste was unpleasant.<ref name="Cleghorn">{{cite news|title=From Charles Mackintosh's waterproof to Dolly the sheep: 43 innovations Scotland has given the world|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/charles-mackintosh-chemist-waterproof-google-doodle-scotland-inventions-innovation-bicycles-a7499911.html|work=The independent|date=30 December 2016}}</ref> Presidency armies officers in India in the early 19th century took to adding a mixture of water, sugar, lime and gin to the quinine in order to make the drink more palatable, and thus the gin and tonic cocktail was born.<ref>[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Tonic+water:+sweet,+bitter+medicine.-a0184549889 Tonic water: sweet, bitter medicine]. Retrieved 30 December 2009.</ref> The officers were already given a gin ration as part of their rations, and the sweet concoction made sense.<ref>{{cite web|last=Raustiala |first=Kal |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/foreigners/2013/08/gin_and_tonic_kept_the_british_empire_healthy_the_drink_s_quinine_powder.single.html |title=Gin and tonic kept the British Empire healthy: The drink's quinine powder was vital for stopping the spread of malaria |publisher=Slate.com |date=2013-08-28 |access-date=2014-06-25}}</ref> Since it is no longer used as an antimalarial, tonic water today contains much less quinine, is usually sweetened, and is consequently much less bitter.<ref>{{cite web|author=Burkhart, Jeff |url=http://nationalgeographicassignmentblog.com/2010/12/30/do-you-know-where-your-new-years-eve-cocktail-comes-from/ |title=Do you know where your New Year's cocktail comes from? |publisher=National Geographic Assignment |year=2010 |access-date=2010-12-01 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424192036/http://nationalgeographicassignmentblog.com/2010/12/30/do-you-know-where-your-new-years-eve-cocktail-comes-from/ |archive-date=24 April 2011}}</ref>

A 2004 study found that after 12 hours, "considerable quantities (500 to 1,000&nbsp;ml) of tonic water may, for a short period of time, lead to quinine plasma levels at the lower limit of therapeutic efficacy and may, in fact, cause transitory suppression of parasites". This method of consumption of quinine was impractical for malaria prophylaxis, as the amount of drug needed "cannot be maintained with even large amounts of tonic". The authors concluded that it is not an effective form of treatment for malaria.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=C. G. Meyer|title=Editorial: Gin tonic revisited.|journal=Trop Med Int Health|volume=9|issue=12|date=December 2004|pages=1239–1240|pmid=15598254|doi=10.1111/j.1365-3156.2004.01357.x|display-authors=etal|doi-access=free}}</ref>