Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-23
DANGER IN SMOKING.
Paper by the Noted Specialist,
DR.. MOrell Mackenzie.
THE EFFECT ON THE VOICE.
Long Pipes and Mild Havanas May
be Used, Cigarettes Never.
TOBACCO AND THE FLOW OF SALIVA
THE EFFECT ON THE VOICE.
TOBACCO AND THE FLOW OF SALIVA
rwRITrEN FOR THE DISPATCH !


man, has been denounced bv well-meaning
fanatics as the cause of uumberless ills both
to soul and body. am inclined to think
that to this indiscriminating anathema the
practice OF smoking owes, at least in some
measure, its present all but universal diffu-
sion. A French devotee is reported to have
said Of some innocent pleasure that it would
be perfect If it were sinful. In the same
spirit, no doubt, the average sensual man"
feels that indulgences in themselves almost
Indifferent gain additional relish from the
fact that they are regarded as wrong by the
"unco guild" or by truculent sanitarians as
hurtful.
The gospel of health is an excellent
thing, but, like the world, it is perhaps a
trile too much with us, and the relentless
zeal of its preachers wearies men Of
ordinary mold, as the just Aristides bored
the Atheniaus. 1 say this out of no irrev-
erence to Sir Edwin Chadwick, DR.. b. w.
Richardson and the other apostles of hy
giene whom 1 honor on this side of idOlatry
as much as any, but because it seems TO NE
that they are apt TO forget that physical
wellbeing is not the sole end of existence.
! wish it to be understood that, though
doctor, do not consider it to be my func-
tion to stand at the feast of life and, like
poor Sancho's physician, condemn every
thing on the table. l am not member of
the Anti-Tobscco League, nor do l believe
that all those who seek solace from the
'herb nicotian"
go mad and beat their wives.
Plunge, after shocking lives,
Razors and carving knives
Into their giZzards."
On the contrary, am teleologist enough
tn think that as tobacco is supplied to us
naturally from the Dounteous bosom of
mother earth, it is meant to be used, and if
used in the right way it is often helpful rather
than injurious. L have no sympathy with
the fanatics, from the royal author of the
famous "Counterblast" downward, who
would deprive poor humanity of one of the
few pleasures which tend to make our way
of life, in however small degree, less desc
late.
THE SINGING VOICE.
Having now, as hope, gained the conf
dence OF deyotees of the tweed" by this pro-
fession of faith, / can speak of the effects OF
smoking on the vocal organs without being
suspected of prejudice.
In dealing with the voice, we may concen.
trate our attention on the singing voice and
the marvellous organ which produces it, with
its delicate tissues, its highly complex nerv-
Gus apparatus, and its accurate muscular
adjustments or we may speak of the voice
as used in ordinary speech, in which, though
there is less question of artistic effect, the
mechanism is still extraordinarily compli-
Gated, and not only the larynx and throat
are used, but the tongue, cheeks, and lips
are brought into more active play than they
are in singing. Speaking concerns the
whole human family, while singing belongs
to a comparatively small though highly
privileged fraction thereof Tobacco ar
fects both the speaking and the singing
voice, though of course its influence is much
more noticeable in song, where the physical
processes are more elaborate, and where
anything that interferes with the smooth
ness and sweetness of tone is as conspicuous
as spots on the sun. The singing voice,
therefore, affords the most delicate test
whereby the effect of external agencies SO
slight that in speech their influence would
be unnoticed can be accurately gauged. /
shall therefore first consider the effect of
tobacco smoke on the singing voice, and it
may be well to ask at the outset: Has it any
effect at all? Does the utteranee of The
smoker betray him, as the husky tones of
those who love to look on the wine when it
is red often proclaim their infrmity?
EVIDENCE OF THE SINGERS.
That the voice is affected bv tobacco is
proved by the testimony of singers on the
one hand and by the experience of physi-
clans on the other. A very large acquaint-
ance with vocalists Of all grades, extending
now over longer period of years than 1
care to think of, enables me to say that
while a few consider their voice as i'm
proved, the vast majority think it is more
or less injured by smoking. 1 attach far
more Importance to the testimony of the
latter than to that of the former, as singers
have frequently the most eccentric notions
of what is good for the voice" As stout,
mustard and melted candles have each been
vaunted by distinguished artistes as vocal
elixirs of sovereign efficacy, it is not sur
prlslng that tobacco should also have its
adherentS.
Ths example of Mario, who smoked in
cesssntly, is often cited as q proof of the
utility, or at any rate the harmIessness, of
the practice. 1t is obvious, however, that
an exceptional singer is so by virtue of
possessing an exceptional throat, and no
rule Tor general use can be safely
founded on such an instance. Balzac
used TO say of great men who were victims
of the tender passion, what there was no
knowing how much greater they might have
been il they had been free from that weak
ness. In the same way we NAV say of
Mario: How much finer might even his
voice have been without his eternal cigar?
1t might at least have lasted longer than it
did. Nearly all singers who have not been
accustomed to the use of tobacco when first
they take to smoking feel that it makes their
throats dry and uncomfortable, and the
voice thick, husky and tremulous, or in
some undeined way mars the perfection of
their execution. Medical men who have
eyes for such things can often see the baleful
effects OF lmmoderate smoking writ large on
nearly every part OF the mucous membrane
of the throat. Such, however, is the power
possessed by the human organization of
adapting itself to iDj furious influences that
In many persons, just as the stomach be-
comes tolerant of tobacco, the tissues of the
throat become accustomed to the irritating
effect OF the hot and acrid fumes
CAUSE OF OTHER TROUBLES.
Nevertheless, even when such impressions
cease to be perceptible, the effect on the mu-
cous membrane may continue to be hurtfui, |
and l have no doubt that a sensitiveness to |
the effects of cold, or as it is called, a "ca-
tarrhal tendency" is frequently kept up
even by the moderate use OF tobacco 1t is |
often the abuse OF tobacco that is a: the |
bottom of chronic congestion, or other slight
deviatons from the normal condition OF the |
throat, which are put down to other causes.
But, beside that, 1 have not the least doubt |
that smoking may be injurious to the voice,
even when it leaves no visible marks of lis
action, by impairing the precision of mus
cular movement necessary for perfect pro-
duction.
The effect Of tobacco on the body is both
general and local; that is to say, it acts on
the nervous centers and on the heart as we'll
as on the parts with which the smoke or the
juice comes Immediately in contact. The
general effect does not concern US here e1-