Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-08-13
A PHYSICIANS OPINION.
he thinks Tobacco - n Poison n
Points Ont It's Dangers.

1 reporter OF the Philadelphia Inquirer he
/ said:
! ~ consider tobacco nothing more nor
| less than poison. Very little, II anything,
can be said in its favor, while there IS
hardly any limit to what may be sara
/ against it, Its consumption ~ slnnPiy
! enormous and is constantly on the increase,
| IL was estimated some years ago tpal ,iie
| animal production OF tobacco IN the nNe
continents was a. 800 tons per year. since
then this has increased at least . per cent.
Itcontains small amounts OF several al
kaloids and acids, but especially the acuNe
pofsons called nicotine, nicoiianine ana
ompyreumatic oil.
nearly colorless. The United States dis
pensatory says of IT. Nicotine IN lts action
ON the animal system is one oi the most
| vir,ilcnt poisons knuwna a drop OF 1t IN the
| state of concentrated solution was sufficient
/ To destroy a dog, and small birds perished
ut the approach of tube containing 1t. In
! man II is said to destroy life in poisonous
/ doses in FROM two To five minutes.
ut belongs TO that class OF drugs known
/ as anti spaStnodics-but IL IL so intensely
| dsagreeablc and dangerously depressing
! that 1t is never prescribed. cne-tenth ol
! grain will kill mediuin-si2ed dog IN
/ three minutes. Now, as to cigarettes ana
/ cigars Havana tobacco contains per
| cent of nicotine and Virginia tobacco
! por cent. There is enough in an ordinary
! cigar to kill two men II II were all aOsofbcd
/ ana III IIgufetlBS Il raw -
.mugeler was once fatally poisoned IN an
effort to escape tho payment of duty, by
| carving tobacco leaves next To ms SKIN.
| Men, women and children who work III
| tobacco factories have saiiow, rls,y com
| plexiOns due 10 this poison, and TINS ei-
| feet Is noticed whether they use the weed
! Ia any form or not, enough Is absorbed IN
handling II TO ruin the constitution for lie
+" "tigarmakcrS, as rule, grow old early,
aud few of them live TO DO very old II they
/ keep to their work, and in no more marked
| degree l. the benefit accruing To abstinence
| from cigarette smoking observable than III
| the University of Pennsylvania, where my
| predecessor, Or. " VIM White, was instru-
| mental in having orders issued pcromporily
4 furbiddng their use on the athletic grounds
| or anywhere in the buildings. Those stu
! dents who have given upth use of tobacco
show marked Improvement ~ lhcir
| studies, as well rs physically.
"Tho empyroumatic oil ~ also . most
deadly poison" continued the doctor.
| cone or two drops placed upon the tongue
of cat will kill II in few minutes"
"IIow do these poisons Affect The sys-
tenn"
"They are carried by the smoke TO the
mucous membrane Of the aif passages,
mouth and nose, and by them absorbed
into the blood, which carries tlioin all over
the body TO poison the nervous system, in
terforing with its proper action, ana thus
leading to an endless number of diseases
that arc almost incurablo after they become
| well established.
Z" Que of the earliest symptoms ~ the
well-known tobacco heart of smokers
aud tobacco operatives; another IL the dc
fcctiNe vision or blindness that 1t pro-
duccs nor is this all, for 1t often occasions
DEATH especially in children. ! myself
know of several instances. one particularly
vivid case being that of "A young boy who
died of nicotine poisoning due entirely TO
cigarette smoking. Very many OF The
deaths from tobacco are not recognized by
the general practitioner, ana are supposed
To be duo TO bad air, poor food, summer
heat, and 50 on. Not single organ oi the
entire body escapes the damaging effects Of
tobacco, and no legislature can enact too
stringent measures to prevent its uso by all
minors.
Another point often and sensibly made
against tobacco Is that it tends To induce
drinking, and this is especially true in the
Young. As a general rule, with small
proportion of exceptions, drinking and
smoking go together, and | often wonder
that tho prohibitionists do not take this
into consideration aud legislato against one
rs well rs the other, for It rs my opinion,
, based on long research and experience IN
this matter, that IN the majority Of the
| young IT they are prevented from using
tobacco, the appetite for drink viii be mucf
| leSscncd,
" You, | and everybody know from on
: associations that IT IS an cnslaVing habit
besides being exceedingly disagreeahle Il
the majority of women and great numpo
of men. Worst of all Ia the undcninb
fact that the general uso of tu
bacco certainly tends to lower the mental
. moral and physical stamina of the race
h and this would be all the more evident /
n smoking were common among women
aud why should they not have this guos
: tionahlo enjoyment II II Is granted 10 th'
J men It's use dulls the students minI
? porcCptibly, while its effects upon athlete
| are 50 marked that the most ignOran
\ trainers demand the total abstinence from
tobacco with more decision than abstinence
from drinking.
"Nuu can quote me as saying as strongly
> as YOU please that am prepared To NEE
a the adverse skcpticisms of smokers, an,
G prove to them, against their will, that the.
4 are slowly poisoning themselves and thci
offspring.
"Drnkng is objected to because of 1t
: immediate apparent effects, while its great
= est danger Is to bC found IN its rCmut
q effects. The samo - true of opium, hut to
bacco after the first few trials, shows pos
/ sihly no bad effects or some slight on'
~ supposed to be something else, which ~
n generally unheedod unr'l they become ia
II tally perceptible.
q Millions of dollars worth OF proport
and many human beings have been lost b
fires started by the smokers match. Eve
powder mills and magazines have bee
exploded by the blind and dcgcnerat
dropped his lighted cigar while in I'll
powder magazine in Mazatlan, McNic,
O and blew up the place with many sul
,f rounding houses, causing the destIuctiO
70 OF a vast amount of property and over sex
. Cnty human lives. I consider the use
= tobacco" finished the doctor. ono of I'll
e most dangerous habits of our age