Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-17
Are Hot Drinks Injurious?

From the Chicago Tribune.
There are different views held by different
people on this subject. Among saloon men and
barkeepers the generally expressed opinion is
that the hot drink liz healthful drink for the
winter months, and that hot Scotch. a Tom
and Jerry" or a hot rum punch not only pro-
duced delightful glow and feeling of good
fellowship, but they made the persons who
swallowed them happy and contented. and with
nothing more to wish for unless perhaps it
might be more Of the same
Physicians charge many diseases to the hot
drinks. and include with the hot drinks as bev-
erages to be shunned the drinks that iced or
are below the normal in temperature. The
consensus Of opinion among medical men is
that where wines or liquors are used they
should be taken into the stomach at practically
the same temperature as that Of the room in
which they are drunk.
There is nothing SO healthy as drink Of
good Scotch whisky mixed with hot water and
sugar." said one of the barkeepers Of the Grand
Pacific yesterday, providing it is taken prop
erly and the person drinking 1t takes proper care
of himself afterward. A man should never take
q hot drink and go Immediately into the cold air,
az the chances of his taking cold are much
greater than in taking cold whisky. In the
country you will find farmers much given to
hot Scotch whisky before going to bed. 1t
has good effect on the digestion if not taken
in too great quantities.
"1here is no doubt that hot drinks are much
better in winter than cold Ones y said the man
ager Of the Auditorium bar yesterday. ''Men
who have been drinking hot Scotch for years
bear me out in the statement l have never
heard of bad effects from drinking hot drinks -
DIR. W. Tallman, the house physician at the
Great Northern Hotel. holds views that are
Numerically opposed to those of the saloon
men. Il would advise all people to shun hot
drinks" said DIR. Tallman yesterday. '.They
an rob s1av, a -, H.
NAL temperature. particularly in the case OF
drinks of which alcohol is a component part
Hot whisky is quickly absorbed and the COM
bined heat of the alcohol and the artificial heat
makes it doubly heating and stimulating and
absorption is so rapid that it produces intoxica-
ton very quickly. When their use is continued
there is as a result catarrhal inflammation of
the stomach and an undue Inflammation of the
mucous membrane of the stomach and Of the
bile ducts of the liver. The absorption is SO
rapid that there is an imperfect digestion of
the alcohol, which enters the blood in more
poisonous condition than it would if slowly
neutralized and absorbed when taken in cold
state. 1t is fact that in hot drinks we have
the foundation laid for many cases of pueu-
monia as has been demonstrated in nearly
every expedition of Arctic explorers that men
stand cold much better who do not use alcoh Ole
stimulants than those who do. 1t produces
greater congestion Of the brain. At night the
blood pressure is reduced from one-quarter to
one-half and the effect Of hot drinks is to keep
up the blood pressure, and there is not that re-
taxation needed for the complete rest OF the
body and brain.
Europeans look upon Americans as uncivil-
lied because Of their plan Of drinking In
France, in Italy, in Germany and in other
countries in continental Europe the drinking of
wines and liquors is down to science. There
hot drinks drinks that are iced until the
temperature is many degrees below normal are
looked upon as little short of crime The
Freuchman. for example, dilutes his claret
with an equal quantity Of water. and he drinks
that as well as cordials or spirits at a normal
temperature. Then, too, he sips the wines
and always eats while he is drinking The con-
sequence is that their drinking is rarely in
furious.
1.-THE temperature Of wines and whskies at
which the best results and the least injury may