Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-21
TOBACCO SMOKING AND HEALTH.
Statistics in Russia Show Toh.cco ,
Detrimental In Henlth


Detrimental to Health.
From the New Orleans Times Democrat.
The British Medical Journal reproduces
statistics from the Vratch of st. Peters
burg, Russia, which give a fine ilIustra-
uon OF the influence of tobacco smoking
upon the health of Russian students. And
as Russian students may be taken to typi-
~ that age and class of young men gen.
orally. the effect which tobacco smoking
produced on their health is probably the
erect which 1t produces on all young mems
health.
DR.. Mendelsohn of st. Petersburg sent
questions in 1890 to all students of the
Military Medical Academy and of .the
chronological Institute of that CITY, Five
questions were to be answered by smokers
cage, how long he smokes, how many
cigars or cigarettes a day. whether he in
hales the smoke, and whether he often SUI.
fers from affections of respiratory OF di-
gestive apparatus), three were to be an
sWered by non-smOkers, and nine by stu
dents who had smoked, but had given up
the habit. He has received in all 5 900 an
sweis from 1071 students, $50 being of the
medical academy and 515 of the institute
A greater proportion of the students of
the medical academy smoked than of the
institute, more than 81 per cent of the
medical students being smokers whereas
only Al per cent Of the institute students
were smokers But in this there is nothing
surprising, as medical students the world
over are more addicted to vice than other
classes of students. While, however a
greater proportion of the medical students
smoked than of the institute students the
institutute students were the heavier
smokers. for the institute student, on the
average. smoked PISS cigarettes a day to
the medical students 1864
AS to the influence of smoking on their
health the statistics obtained by Dr. Men,
delsohn and published in the Vratch are
| 10 the effect that the smokers in both in
situations show higher rate of mortality
than non-smokers. "Out of 100 smokers
| says the British Medical Journal from an
analysis of the statistics, 1900 per cent
fell i'll from affections of the respiratory
organs. and out of 100 non-smokers only
| 1896; i'll from affections of the digestive
organs, out of 100 smokers, 1885, and out
OF 100 non-smokers, 9.92; affected in both
apparatus. respiratory and digestive, out
OF !oO smokers were SIT per cent, and out
q ioO non-smokers only 3.22; in general
1914 per cent of smokers and %. S3 per cent
or non smokers were taken ILL.,"
This is quite striking result-that SO of
every 100 smokers should be taken i'll, while
only ~ of every 100 non-smokers were so
affected. And as the statistics were gath
cred fmpartially from over 900 young men
OF about the same years and condition it
Is not easy to get away from the conclu-
sion that tobacco smoking has an Injurious
influence on the health. Indeed there is
only one possible supposition by which we
can avoid this conclusion, and the suppo-
sition Is that weak and sickly young men
have some sort of predisposition toward
smoking. while the robust and healthy have
not, but this is a supposition that is at
variance with all observed facts. Tobacco
smoking must be accepted, therefore, as
being detrimental to the health.
DR.. Mendlesohn's statistics showed, more
over. that one-third of the student smokers
began to smoke before their sixteenth year
while the other two-thirds began to smoke
after the age of sixteen. OF the students
who smoked before their sixteenth year
40 S3 per cent became ill; whereas of those
who began to smoke after their sixteenth
year, only 32.71 became ILL.,
These are facts that would bear a great
eeai OF reflection; whether they will get 1t
Is different question.