Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1886-06-03
The Tobacco Habit.

Two of our medical exhanges have con-
tanned a letter from physician telling his
experience with tobacco. He had been in
the habit of using it, lin every form, per-
haps not in excessive quantities" for
thirty years, and during at least twenty
years his bodily health and vigor were
remarkably good. But during five years
past he has been subject to attacks of
diari hoer, 70 low d y long periods Of ob.
stinate constipation: on one occasion
when away from home and using more
tobacco than usual he fell in a fainting
lit, and on another such occasion he was
suddenly attacked with terrific chest pains.
He naturally concluded that tobacco was
injuring him, and ceased the habit at once
without Inconvenience This case
paves the way for few remarks. Many
men are SO constituted that they may
go on using tobacco ten or
i'll effect, and the daily papers are con-
stantly informing us OF very aged persons
who seem to thrive on the pipe, but the
fact remains that in the long run almost
every user of tobacco sees cause to regret
the habit-unless he dies too soon. The
young man of twenty years may find his
hands trembling like those Of a palsied old
man; the man of thirty may find his
brain incapacitated for business, and his
whole nervous system undermined; the
man of forty may find his muscular fibre
so relaxed that he is troubled with falling
rectum, or impotency: the man of fifty OF
more years may find himself tottering in
mind and body on the verge of a prema-
ture grave; the man or boy of any age is
likely to find his hearts action deranged,
his stomach disordered, his intellect cloud
ed and his physical endurance impaired by
the use of tobacco.
1t Is only question Of time, il the man
lives long enough, when almost every vic
tim of the tobacco habit shall find reason
to regret it. II is hard to make him be-
ltAxya fhnf fhaf traa xxrtn nd
one is really suffering long before he can
be convinced that tobacco is the cause,
while some actually die from the effects Of
it without knowing what kills them.
A letter from Springfield Ohio, to the
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, describes the
fve-year-old child OF saloon keeper, a
prodigy named Petey, who is renowned
throughout the city for his ability to
smoke fifteen cigars daily. Petey has q
three-year old brother that shares the
glory of this unfortunate precocity.
The account says that a physician was
called in TO examine them, and finding no
evidence of evil effects from the use OF to
bacco, sanctioned a continuance Of 10 with
out stint. Except for the scriptural in
junction against calling "thy brother q
fool" we should have something to
say of that professional brother. It is
reported that both childrea began to
smoke soon after they were one year old,
and that their natural craving for IL was
tremendous. Possibly they inherited with
the appetite a great amount Of "toler-
anceh for the weed, and they may be slow
to show the i'll effects of it, but we take
some consolation In firm conviction that
they will not live to pass along their alb
normality to another generation. Their
father is immensely proud of their ac-
complishment, and supplies them with all
the cigars and tobacco they want; IL ID
worth great deal to him In business
way" 1T Is indescribably amusing to see
the little fellows toddle into the barroom
and call for cigars" The subsequent his
tory of these much abused infants will be
interesting, but IL will not he ''indescrib
ably amusing. From DR.. Foote's Heai0
Monfhlv