, 1888-12-23
THE USE OF TOBACCO.
The Virtues and Vices Of the Weed In An
Shane.

Shapes.
Tobacco contains an acrid, dark
brown oil, an alkaloid, nicotine, and
another substance called nicotinuine,
in which exist its odorous and volatile
principles. When tobacco is burned,
q new set of substances is produced,
some of which are less harmful than
the nicotine, and are more agreeable
in effect, and much of the acrid ola
substance quite as irritating and poi
sonous as nicotine-is carried off.
These fire produced substances are
called from their origin, the ''pyridinc
series" By great heat the more aro-
matte and less harmful members of the
series are produced, but the moro poi
sonous compounds are generated by
the slow combustion of damp tobacco.
This oil which is liberated by combus-
ton is bad both in flavor and in effect,
and it is better, even for the immedi-
are pleasure of the smoker, that il
should be excluded altogether from
his mouth and air passages.
Smoking in a stub of a pipe is par
ticularly injurious, for the reason
that in it the oil is stored in a con
densed form, and the smoke is there
fore highly charged with the oil
Sucking or chewing the stub of acigar
that nj is smoking is a serious mis-
take, because the nicotine in the I'M
burned tobacco dissolves freely in the
saliva, and is absorbed. Chewing"
is on this account the most injurious
form of the tobacco habit, and the use
of a cigar holder is an improvement
on the custom of holding the cigar be-
tween the teeth. Cigarettes are re-
a,.ang;h1a Co.. a crraat amount nf mis-
chief, not because the smoke from the
paper has any particularly evil effect,
but because smokers-and they are
often boys or very young men-are
apt to use them continuously or at
frequent intervals, believing that their
power for evil is insignificant. Thus
the nerves are under the constant in
huence of the drug, and much injury
to the system results. Moreover, the
cigarette smoker uses a very consider
able amount of tobacco during the day.
Dipping" and ''snuffing" are semi
barbarities which need not be dis
cussed. Not much effect is obtained
from the use of the drug in these
varieties of the habit.
Nicotine is one of the most powerful
of the NERVE poisons" known. Its
virulence is compared to that of prus-
sic acid. If birds be made to inhale its
vapor in amounts too small to be
measured, they are almost instantly
killed. 1t seems to destroy life, not
by attacking q few, but of all thefunc-
lions essential to it, beginning at the
center, the heart. A significant indi-
cation of { 5 is that there is no sub
stance known which can counteract
its etects; the system either succumbs
or survives. Its depressing action on
the heart is by far the most noticeable
and noteworthy symptom of nicotine
poisoning. The frequent existence of
what is known as smokers heart" in
men whose health Is in no other re-
spect disturbed is due to this fact.
Those who al use tobacco without
immediate injury will have all the
pleasant effects reversed, and will suf-
fer from the symptoms of poisoning if
they exceed the limit Of tolerance.
These symptoms are; 1. The hearts
action becomes more rapid when to-
bacco is used; 2. Palpitation, pain or
unusual sensations In the heart; 8.
There is no appetite in the morning,
the tongue is coated, delicate havors
are no appreciated, and acid dyspep-
STA occurs after eating; 4. Soreness of
the mouth and throat, or nasal ca
tarrh, appears and becomes very
troublesome; 8. The eyesight becomes
poor, but improves when the habit is
abandoned; 6. A desire, often a crav-
ing, for liquor or some other stimu-
liant, is experienced.
In an experimental observation of
t~hirty-eight boys of all classes of so
cicty, and of average health, who had
been using tobacco for periods rang
ing from two months to two years,
twenty-seven showed severe injury to
the constitution and insufficient
growth; thirty-two showed the ex-
istence of irregularity of the hearts
action, d~isordered stomachs, cough,
and a craving for alcohol; thirteen had
had consumption. After they had
abandoned the use of tobacco, within
six months one-half were free from
all their former symptoms, and the re-
mainder had recovered by the end of
the year.
A great majority of men go far be-
yond what may be called the temper
ate use of tobacco, and evidences of
injury are easily found. 1t is only
necessary to have some record of what
the general health was previous to the
taking up of the habit, and to have OBJ
servation cover a long enough time.
The history of tobacco in the island of
New Zealand furnishes a quite sugges-
tive illustration for our purpose, and
one on a large scale. When Europe
ans first visited New Zealand they
found in the native Maoris the most
finely developed and powerful men of
any of the tribes inhabiting the islands
of the Pacific. Since the introduction
of tobacco, for which the Maoris de-
veloped a passionate liking, they have
from this cause alone, it is said, be-
come decimated in numbers. and, at
the same time, reduced in stature and
in physical well being SO as to be an
altogether inferior type of men.-New
York Medical Journal.