Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-09-01

From the New York tribune.
A Tribune reporter, wishing to get some &C
curate information regarding the much-disputed
question Of the Injurious effects Of cigarette
smoking, sought information on the subject
from well-known, physician, who has made
diseases of the lungs and air passages his special
study. 'Is cigarette-smoking injurious9" the
physician repeated thohghttully, as he blew
wreath OF blue smoke from his lungs in q dreamy
manner; eyes, all. smoking is Injurious, as far
as that goes, and In my opinion cigarette smok-
Ing especially so, and for the following reason"
Pausing at this point to light fresh cigarette,
he continued: "YOu see, when man gets to
smoking cigarettes he smokes them where he
could not light cigar or pipe; he smokes, in
fact, at all times and all seasons, and so. as q
rule. the cigarette-smOker consumes more to-
bacco really than the man who devotes himself
to cOloring meerschaum or cripples his income
by indulging in good cigars"
'Then there is one thing true of the cigarette
smoker which the ppe-smoker avoids and that
is the inhalation of smoke. More than 80 per
cent OF the men who smoke cigarettes habitually
inhale the smoke, and that is where the great
harm and peril to the smoker lie." Here the
doctor blew cloud of thin smoke from the
deepest recesses of his lungs and went on: cat
first this constant contact of an acrid irritating
smoke, loaded with minute particles OF carbon
the burnt paper-causes simply irritation and
chronic congestion of the air passages, but
sooner or later we get permanent organic
change and disease. The particles of carbon
will In time form deposits in the little air cells,
which In turn become starting points for disease
and gradually you get q form of lung trouble
which 1s closely analogous to that form Of con-
sumption known as coal miners phthisis'
Then again the throat and upper air passages
suffer greatly in this kind Of smoking. the
trachea having very many absorbent glands
which take up the nicotine and carry it into the
circulation when smoke is inhaled. Why" said
the doctor, warming with his subject, ''when
smoke my first cigarette before breakfast it
often makes me 80 drunk l can hardly Dress
because at that time the glands are particularly
active and the stomach is empty.
Eyes, cigarette smoking is on the increase
and is comparatively new in the United States.
Fifteen years ago no American cigarettes were
manufactured and few, except Cubans, Span
this FORM"
'Why do not Cubans and Spanards get lung
disease from smoking cigarettes?"
From one special reason disease is less
frequent among the southern smokers than in
this country, and that is the difference in
climate. Here we are continually lighting
against climate which owing to its constant
and severe changes. is peculiarly trying to the
lungs, and If you add another source Of irrita-
tion, It's only natural that so sensitive and deli
cate structure should give out sooner or
later"
Moderation in cigarette smoking2 There is
no such thing. If man smokes cigarettes at
all. sooner or later he will smoke almost inces-
sanity and inhale every Whit he draws and 80 one
can make the general rule with perfect safety that
cigarette smoking is by far the most Injurious
form of smoking and that no one can indulge it
to any great extent without falling into danger
GUS excess; and. more's the pity. the practice is
steadily on the increase"