The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1903-05-13
The Cigarette and The cumil Q
business MAJ.

1 would give the following rea
sons for opposing the smoking of
cigarettes by boys under twenty :
one years of age
/. 1t Lessons the Natural APP
petite for Food and Injuries Dige,-
tion.-Anyclose observer willknow
at once how true is this statement.
The boy who smokes has bad di-
grstion and poor appetite. Be-
cause of this interference with al,-
petite and digestion, the food is
not properly digested and assimi-
lated, cellular activity Is checked,
and the growth and development
of the body seriously interfered
with by this early poisoning.
2. 1t Seriously Affects the Ner
vous System We often hear about
the tobacco heart of the adult.
If tobacco is strong enough to af-
feet the beating of the adult heart,
how much stronger must be its ef-
feet on the heart of young per-
soc, long before tissues have be-
come fixed. The rush of blood to
the head, the dizziness, the un-
steady beating of the heart, the
distressing dreams-all show how
seriously is the nervous system af
tected.
But more serious charge can
be brought against it under this
heading. This effect on the ner-
vous system issuflicient to produce
the most marked changes in1s the
mental activity. Recent state
ments from the University of Mich
igan, North western University,
Yale College. Union College, to
gether with scores of other institu-
tions and hundreds of the most en-
inent teachers of the country, all
testify to the fact that cigarette
smoking interferes with scholar
ship. II it interferes with the
scholarship of young men over
twenty-one years of age, how much
seriously must it interfere with
the mental activities of those under
this age!
3. 1t Lowers the Moral Tone
Another most serious charge against
the cigarette is that it lowers the
moral tone. Boys who would not
tell lie on any other matter, not
for a fortune, our best and noblest
boys, do not seem to hesitate a mo-
ment to tell any kind off falsehood |
in order TO keep from their parents
the fact that they are smoking cig
arettes. They hide the cigarettes.
They smoke them away from home.
They try in every way to conceal
the truth. Indeed, they will do
all manner of things in order to
deceive those who are nearest and |
dearest to them.
4. 1t Creates a Craving for
Strong Drink.-There has been a
great deal of discussion on this
point, but l am convinced that the
statement is logically true. The
hot smoke from the cigarette tends
to make the mouth and throat dry |
and creates a peculiar sinking SEN
sation in the stomach. Water may |
temporarily relieve this dryness
and may temporarily check the
sinking sensation. But with the
moral tone lowered and the mental
power weakened, the desire to yield |
to the first temptation is strength
ened, because of the flimsy excuse
that the boy must have something
to wet his throat. And so it goes
on, from bad to worse. In other
words, the boy who smokes more
easily accepts an invitation to a
treat than one who does not smoke.
5. 1t Is Filthy and Offensive
Habit No matter how stealthily |
the boy may do his work, sooner or
later his clothing becomes satura-
TED with the odor OF tobacco. And |
let me add right here, one of the
most inexplicable things in this
world is that well-dressed, high
ly accomplished young ladies will
sit by the side of young man in
a carriage or street-car, or will
walk by mis- side in the street, and