St. Landry democrat., 1884-09-13
The Ouinine Habit.
Nen York Commercial Aavertiser.

practitioner, who has grown gray Ill
his profession, speaking OF the re-
port that the use Of qulnlne as a
stimulant is becoming very COM
mon habit among men OF business
and ladies in society:
eyes, it is unquestionably true
that the great increase in the sales
Of quinine during the last five years
bv retail druggists is very largely
resferabls to what may be styled the
ouinine habit, and it is fully as ire
duent among women in society as
t is with men whose nerves are
overtaxed by hard work. And !; |
NAV saw to YOU, though many will
dispute it, that of the two the qul-
nine habit is more rapid in its raw
aces when once thoroughly estab-
Ilished. more difficult to break, and
more dangerous in every respect
than the habitual use Of opium or
it's preparations. Few save prac-
ticing physicians are aware OF the
tremendous potency Of this drug in
it's effects upon the nervous, system,
| As YOU know, depending upon the
quantity taken, quinine possesses
| four very distinct proprieties- be,
| ing, in very small doses, tonic and
nervine in moderate doses, directly
stimulant in large doses, sedatlTe
and soporifc and in very large
| doses, Intoxicating producing pc
culiar species OF drunkenness similar
lin its features to masked epilepsy,
III which, while performing custom
airy actions aud talking with the CO.
herence of person in full posses
sion Of his senses, the victim is real
)Iy perfectly unconscious of what he
/ is doing and totally irresponsible.
| There is no question that the regu-
Lar use of the drug as stlmulant
is rapidly increasing among the
higher classes, and the fact is one
Of the most lamentable that has
come under my notice for years,
The way man gets into it in the
first place is very simple. He feels
o little unstrung and out Of tune,
perhaps, and so congults the family
physician, who suggests few doses
Of quinine.. In. q day or two he
feels singularly improved /; his brain
is clever and bright ; his physical
tenerqies seem TO have renewed then
youth. Elated with the result,
whenever he feels down spirited OF
out of sorts, he resorts, Of course, to
the remedy that has once served
his purpose 30 well and very soon
has acquired the habit Of using the
/ drug in regular daily doses. In
three months, 50 insidious are its
effects, the quinine habit is fully es-
tablished, and the probability ID
that the man Tor woman, as the
case may bel has not five years to
live. Worse still, so peculiar are
the effects Of the salt on the nervous
system, there is a strong probability
that the victim will die Of suicide
for it is d singular fact that no tonic
in the nadteria medica acts so direct.
Ily and rapidly to produce suicidal
predisposition and impulse. The
morphia habit generally transforms
the most truthful man OF woman III
to tile most inveterate liar IN the
course of two or three years no
mancer Of the Widest type. Onthe
other hand, while quinine produces
no psrccptible effect on the veracity
lit leads to nervous irritabiIity that
is intolerable alike to its victim and
his associates, and frequently ends
in the sudden development OF suici'
DIAL mania. Again, = patient snaJ
be reduced to the edge of the grave
by morphia, and still recover rem
nant OF physical and nervous energy
; when the drug has been eliminated
from the system; but whom onet
; the system gives way under the GU
mulatiye influence Of quinnle The
breakdown is ilrcTocable. In Thu
} course Of an experience embracing
thirty-hye cases OF the quinine habi
iplits LATER stages, during the las
rltHee years, ] have never seen q cas-
Fin RIlich the victim was good 70
) anything after the habit was broken
and Ias i rule, the patient collapse
: andIllies if the pitfe laval Of tn
stiJallant is perseyered in. Know
Il. III 10 - 1 IL -.