Evening journal., 1895-01-02
Tea Drunhards.

well / neverl This Is what our
woman readers will exelslm on reading
the ABOVE heading "Tea drinking harm
ful. what an absurdity' Aud yet we
are speaking In words OF .sobsrness when
we declare that 1t is about time that
crusade was urged against tea drinking,
for it is recognized now by many
eminent physicians to b. the cause Of
disease.
According to statistics recently fur
nished to the Medical News by DR..
James Wood. OF Brooklyn, Of all the
patients applying for treatment at the
chief dispensary Of that city no less than
10 per cent. are tea drunkards. They
are not aware Of the fact No one asks
to bs cured Of what We may
call teamania Bat tho symp-
toms Of their cases point unmis
taksbly to over indulgence in tea, and
that presumption, on inquiry, Is con-
firmed by their confessions. They
suffer from headache, vertigo, insomnia,
palpitation Of the heart, mental con-
fusion, nightmare, nausea. hallueina-
tion, morbid depression Of spirits, and
sometimes from suicidal impulses
surely a formidable list OF symptoms.
These patients are Of both sexes, and all
ages. and confess drinking from pint
and half to fifteen pints Of tea each
day.
Another interesting fact is that nearly
one third Of them are OF Irish birth, and it
Is safe to assume that OF the nearly
two-thirds Of AmericaEbirth large
proportion are Of Irish parentsge. For,
in Ireland itself, tea poisoning aas long
been recognized as widely prevalent evil,
contributing largely to the number Of
inmates OF insane .asylums; and here,
as most housekeepers know. the most
invetsrate and inordlnate tea drinkers
are the domestic servants Of Irish
origin It Is an interesting question
worthy Of investigation whether this
prevalence OF tea intoxlcation among
that race is because they use tea more
freely than other people, or because
their nervous temperament is more sus
oeptlble to its effsots.
The evil Of tea drinking is due
however not only to the amount con
sumed, but also to the manner In which
It Is prepared. An nnmeasured quantity
Of tbs leaves, says DR.. Wood, is thrown
into the teapot aud an unmeasureS
quantity Of boiling water added. In AM
time from ten to thirty minutes thl
infusion is used Then new leaves ar
thrown in with the old, which havl
been left to soak, and more water 4
added and so on. Sometimes leaves ar
thus kept soaking for a day or more.
The result Is that the decoction
loaded, not only with theIne, but with fror
seven or seventeen per cent Of tannin
and with other even more deleteriou
substances This form Of preparation
Is almost universal among kitchen girls
and among shop and factory girls, VII
are also great tea drinkers, aud Is TO
often practicsd among other people 0
small means, who do not wish to waste
single leaf so long as there is an
strength" in It.
The New York Tribune says "Agains
this particular phase Of the evil crI
ssde may well be directed. Tea drlnkel
should be taught how to prepare I'll
beverage properly, so that it will be con
parstively innoouous; and should /
warned that such decootlons as they haV
been making are nothing else than ran
poisons Physicians doubtless give sue
advice to their patients whom they fin
suffering from tea intoxicstion.