The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1885-07-28
RAT CIGARS.
How Disease and Death May
EnSue From Using Them.
Cigars Made by Square Labor
the only Ones Safe.
Fair Warning to Dealers Who
Persist in Selling Infected
Cigars.
au Work. CommerciaI Advertiser.

New York Commercial Advertiser.
The Commercial Advertiser some
time ago referred to the evils of max
ing cigars i'm tenement houses. where
men women and children, sick with
contagious diseases, continue their
work undated, since to stop work Is
to do without food. Oftentimes the
invalid, in the last stages of disease, is
obliged to bunch leaves for his healthy
companions, in order to probing his
life.
Ii has been 4 grave question among
smokers whether or not tobacco is
medium of infection. 1t has been
popularity believed that the aromatic
qualities of the leaf destroy the germs
of d sease much after the manner that
the simple odor of carooIic acid is sup
posed to prevent the spread of CON-
tagion. In Cuba, during the cholera
epidemic twenty years ago, tobacco
lie ives were burned in chatting dishes
in the sick room. and usually caused
The death of the Pa lent by suffocation.
A room treated in this way was sup
posed 10 be cleansed from any danger
of infection.
AT the bureau of contagious dis
eases of the health department, in
quiry was made this morning whether
tobacco can carry infection. One of
the oldest physicians in the service,
replied There can be no doubt OF
it. Tobacco may carry infection as
well as anything else in nature that
hes pores and is capable of absorbing
moisture. This question has been an
Interesting one to the board OF health,
ON account of the recent action in the
legislature in regard to the manufac-
ture of cigars in tenement houses. 1t
was proved by the authors of the bin,
which sought to restrict such manu-
facture, that the health of the COM
munity was endangered by the prac-
tice. The gravest questions were
brought forward and discussed in re-
gard to the danger from the tene-
ment houses, aud it was conceded by
every right thinking man that blood
poisonings, always mysterious in their
workings. might be produced and &C
tolerated by the smoking of cigars
by diseased persons. Some little time
ago we had occasion to investigate
cass of death from smallpox. We
went to the tenement where the man
died, and found it was occupied al
most exclusively by cigarmakers, In
the room where the death occurred,
were two persons sick from the dis
ease, one of whom was nearly dead,
and the other calmly making cigars.
We Immediately isolated the family,
disinfected the tenement. traced the
cigars so far as we could and seized
and destroyed them. Had this FAM
lily not been discovered as soon as it
has, there can be no estimation of the
spread of the disease. The cigar
makers, especially those living and
working in tenements, are B0hemians.
They are the flthiest people we have
in this city-worse, in fact, than the
lowest class of Italians. They resist
vaccination forcibly, and We have had
many times to call in the police to as
sist US. La fact so wide spread among
them is the dread of vaccination, that
at the time l speak of a Bohemian
priest spoke from the altar of one of
their churches in this city, and cOun-
seled them to resist the board of
health to the utmost. As in this case,
80 in all others where the health Of
ficers come In contact with these peo-
pc.
Briefly, no man who smokes cigars
or cigarettes is free moment from
the danger of becoming infected with
some contagious disease OF the most
disgusting character"
A case was mentioned of gentle
man in this city who was attacked by
diptheria, of the mast virulent charac-
ter. Believing there was some defect
i've plumbing IN his house, he bad a
sanitary ngineer inspect it, and TO
his surprise it was pronounced per-
feet so far as sanitation was concerned.
But the gentleman was great smok-
er.
That" interrupted the doctor,
"explains the case. The gentleman
you referred to, evidently smoked a
cigar which had been made by per-
son who was either suffering from, or
recovering from case of diptheria.
The cigarmaker probably used his sal
iva to moisten the end Of his cigar,
and left the germs of the disease
ready for infection. In the circum-
stance related there is no doubt in nv
mind that the smoker caught the dis.
ease by infection from his cigar. If "a
mon smoEac uho hos tho sErbtas+