St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-24
Cigarettes, Short Stemmed
Pipes and the Chewing
Habit
Scientifically and Roundly
Denounced by the Emil
nent Doctor.
Where the Weed Is Injurious
Something About the
Tobacco Heart.

am inclined to think they are ex-
ceedingly few; and, in fact, they may
be entirely diSregarded in our consider
alton of the influence of the weed on
mankind.
Doubtless there are instances i'll
which the soothing effect Of cigar is
desirable, and there are others in which
smoking immediately after meal in
creases the amount of gastric juice Sc
creted. and hence facilitates the digeS-
tive process; but there are SO many
cases in which tobacco, instead of
soothing, irritateS, and a still greater
number in which, so far from facilitat-
ing digestion, it positively retards that
function, that humanity would be none
the loser if tobacco, as a Soother of
ruffied spirit and as prod for the Sc
erection of the gastric juice. were to be
utterly swept from the face of the
earth.
We have other and more effectual
methods of quoting the agitated mind
and much better stimuiators of dises-
ton which are in 10 way harmful; for
although tobacco may do some good to
some people. there are probably few who
use it whom the injurious effects do not
more than counterhalance whatever
good may be derived from it.
Still it may, l think, be asserted with
out fear of contradiction that the dis
tinctly deleterious results ensuing from
the moderate use OF tobacco by adults
are infrequent. In making this declara-
ton | desire to be understood as laying
particular stress on the word moderate
and adults, and also as limiting the en-
MI lE
ing of cigars.
Dirty Tobacco Habits.
Chewing is thoroughly filthy and
disgusting habit, and moreover is i'll
furious, no matter how moderately it
may be INDUCED in. 1t takes away
from the system the saliva, one of the
chief digestive juices: it vitiates the
other SecretiOns of the mouth, and it
renders the person who praticeS it Of
fensiVe to those who come in contact
with him.
Cigarettes are rarely, if ever. used
without the smoke being inhaled into
the lungs, and the consequences of this
practice are almost invariably deplor-
able, owing to the great amount of nico-
tine which is absorbed into the system.
As to Snuff, the taking of tobacco
through the hose is now so infrequentIy
practised that it may be dismissed with
out further discussion. 1t is almost as
dirty habit as chewing, and in very
short time so impairS the integrity of
the mucous membrane of the nose as to
alter the voice and induce catarrh, and
ultimately destroy the sense of smell.
Dipping, as it used to be called, has
also pretty much gone out OF vogue. 1t
consisted in applying the snuff to the
teeth 10y some kind or brush. usually one
made FROM a hickory twig, and was
modification of chewing. 1t was almost
entirely confined to women of the South
ern and western portions of the coun-
try, and was never practised to any
very great extent.
The objection to the best kind of
pipes is that very much more of the
nicotine and Oil Of the tobacco are alb
S0rbed into the system than is the case
with cigaiS. With common pipes. espe-
cially those with short stems, the degree
of irritation which is excited i'm the lips
and interior of the mouth is far greater
than that resulting from tobacco used
in any other form.
Here Cigars Are Good.
Now to return to cigars. One good
cigar smoked after each meal is what
may be called moderate use, and can
rarely Infiiet any damage to the system.
The exceptions occur in those persons
of peculiar organization. impreSsionable
and easily disturbed by Stimulants, Sed-
atives or narcotics. There are others,
as we know, in whom cup of tea or cof-
fee or a saucer of strawberries causes
arrangement of some one or more Or
gans of the body, and others with even
more remarkable peculiaritieS. so that
it is not strange that there should he in
diyidualS to whom tobacco is more or
less poisonous. Such instances, how
ever. are rare and do not conflict with
the foregoing statement.
| can see, therefore, no very great
reason why. if q person desires. or
thinks he desires. mental or physical
consolation or benefit, he should not in
dnlge himself in the moderate use of
cigars in the manner that l have men
toned.
But should he pass the proper limits.
he makes himself liable to the occur
renee of one or more physical disorders,
any one of which Will certainly entail
great suffering upon him. Thus neural
gia may harass HIM by day and by
night. and especially when he has eX-
posed himself TO inclement weather, or
been subject to mental anxiety or other
emotional disturbances. The nerves of
the face are particularly prone to be
affected in such cases, and the form NAV
consist of that most atrOcious of all
neuralgia pains. tic douleureux. in
which the pains come systematically
and are accompanied with twitching of
the muscles.
But You Had Better Look Out.
Again. he may suffer from derange-
ment OF the eyesight. consequent upon
Inflammation of the optic nerves "to-
bacco amaurosis." as it is sometimes
called. For long time oculists differed
in regard to the existence of such dis
ease. and | was among the doubters,
but | believe there Is now no difference
of opinion among, those who make a
specially of diseases of the eve, and
| have for several years been con-
wheel from actual experience of the
reality of Inflammation of the optic
nerves caused by the excessive use of
tobacco. several cases of the kind hav-
ing come under my own immediate OBJ
ServatiOn. In all of these. as soon as
the victims ceased to smoke the optic
nerves began to assume healthy ap-
pearance. the vision to improve, and
eventually the sight to be entirely re-
stored. In one case the use of tobacco
was resumed, and shortly afterward the
vision again hegan to fail. to be sec
ond time restored on the patient enter
ing upon course of entire abstinence.
The Tobacco Heart.
The influence of tobacco upan the
heart is frequently more strongly
marked than in any other direction.
There are few persons who use this
substance to excess who do not suffer
i. y