The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1881-06-22
CIGARETTE POISON.

CIV SShSi'y
that cigarettes smoke is the worst.
form in which tobacco can be used,
since the paper is often poisonous,
the tobacco artificially favored, aud
the smoke is inhaled into the lungs.
The philadelphia Times publishes
the opinions of several leading med
ical men to che above eject. DR..
Pepper, provost Of the University Of
Pennsylvania, declares that ciga
rettes bring on indigestion and i'm
paired vision; DR.. Rlsley, an ocuiist,
says that he has had two patients
within a week who have been made
blind by smoking, and otker doctors
are equally emphatic. AS he is
known in this vicinity, we quote in
full the utterance of DR.. Roberts
Bartholow:
1t is high time that something
were done to put stop to this fright
full evil, which lie stunning the
growth and running the health Of
thousands of boys. 1t is just horri.
bic to see these boys-little fellows,
many of them not more than eight
or ten years old, not street boys, but
well dressed and carefully nurtured
boys-gathered in knots in some
corner, where they think they will
not be observed, learning to smoke.
Parents see their sons getting thin
and yellow and irritable, the family
doctor is called in, and without 60
ing to the root of tue evil prescribes
tonics which do no perceptible good.
"The prodigious increase Of ciga-
rette smoking among boys in the
last four years" continued DR.. Bar.
,holow, getting up from his chair
and walking up and down his hand
some parior to the energy Of his in
dignalion, sis an evil which will tend
to the deterioration of the race if i.
is not checked. But it Is not hard
to account for. Boys are very imi-
tativc. They follow the fashion with
promptness and zeal. Cigarettes are
the rage at Harvard. 1t is the cor.
rect thing to smoke these poisonous
little rolls of tobacco and paper
Whatever is fashionable in q credit
school like Harvard is sure in a very
short time to be fashionable among
young men aud boys all over the
country. Another great cause Of The
mischief is that boys are fond of ion.
itatiug their elders. Smoking ia
public places ought to be discharged
There ought to be sentiment created
against it, and the press is the pow
err to create such sentiment. Eve
ny man when he smokes in public
ought to think that he is encoura.
ging some boy to smoke. The boy
will smoke cigarette, imagining
that he will get less tobacco 10 that
way, and ignorant of the fact tina,
cigarette smoking is the most PERM.
cious form in which tobacco is used.
Tobacco in any form is great inju.
ry to q growing boy, and the fashion
of inhaling the smoke and then for.
cling it out through the nose is dead,
Is in its effects. 1t causes catarrh
in the air passages, throat and nose,
and make the smoker disgusting, as
we'll az punhy and stunted. You
will End that these cigarette smok
ing youths have impaired digestions,
small and poor muscles, irritable
tempeIs, and lack of capacity for
substantial effort Of any kind, and ]
believe you will find that they do no,
succeed in life. The men who win
are the men Of strong physique. A
cigarette smoking boy will not make
q strong man. These are some Of
the evils which the individual brings
upon himself. But the mischief does
not stop with the individual, but Ia
transmitted to his offspring. sNer'
vous peculiarities are just as readily
transmitted as physical peculiarities,
The acquired irritability, imperfect
development ana loss Of nervous
force of the father is inherited by
the child, who in turn further i'm.
pairs his health by the same pro
cess, so that in the course Of three
or.four generations there must be a
Great deterioration in the race. Tho
sale of cigarettes to boys should be
prohibited by law Exchange.