The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-31
WHAT HURTS THE SMOKER.

II Is pretty generally recognized that to-
bacco is in a degree injurious to health.
1t is mild poison, and, used in large guam
titles, a dangerous poison. But it is not
generally known what il is in tobacco smoke
which hurts the health of the smoker.
Nicotine has been blamed for the injurious
effect, but scientists now think that nico-
tine has nothing to do with it. For. al
though poison, it exists in small quantities
III tobacco and the little there is occurs IN
an unstable organic salt which is changed
into something else on combustion. So the
various pipes and patent cigar holders
which are advertised to absorb the nico-
tine" really do little to make tobacco smoke
wholesome
The London Lancet is of opinion that the
symptoms produced by excessive smoking
are traceable to the presence of carbon
mOnoxide This gas occurs in large guam
titles in tobacco smoke, though it is better
known as the dangerous constituent of
water gas. Carbon mOnOxide being inhaled,
produces dizziness, palpitation of the heart,
tremor, feeble pulse. stupor-all of which
are also the result of incorporate use of to-
bacco. 1t has been found that one ounce of
tobacco produces one-ffth of pint of car
bon monoxide.
The effect of this gas on the blood has
been illustrated by a simple experiment.
With few drops of human blood in a test
tube two or three mouthfuls of cigarette
smoke were shaken UP. The blood i'm
\
which contains carbon monoxide. and spec
troscOpic examination proved the presence
of the gas. The experiment was repeated,
with pipe smoke, and the results were more
pronounced. With cigar smoke still greater
results were procured, showing that the
cigar contained the largest quantity of the
poisonous gas.
Why, then, are cigarettes more injurious
to the health than the cigar or pipe? II
has been denied that this is true, but the
overwhelming mass of evidence and ex-
perience shows it nevertheless. The answer
is simple A cigar smoker merely draws
the smoke into his mouth and expels il
again. 1t therefore comes in contact with a
very limited surface of mucous membrane,
and little of the gas finds its way to the
blood. But the cigarette smoker is not con-
tent to taste the smoke; he must draw it
into his lungs. No habitual user of cigar
cites does otherwise; the smoke is all in
hailed. In the lungs the smoke is brought
into contact with the blood. and in this
lies the peculiar danger of cigarette smok-
ing. If cigar smoker should inhae in the
same way his health would break down
much sooner than that Of the cigarette fiend
But cigar smoke is so pungent that few
are able without great discomfort to draw
it into the lungs.
1t is often stated that cigarettes are in
furious because they are "doped," or treated
with injurious narcotic drugs This may
be true of certain expensive brands, but
the cheaper kinds prove by their very cheap
ness that they have undergone no such
process. Then again the large majority OF
cigarette users at the present day make
their own cigarettes. procuring their favor
ite brand of tobacco and wrapping it in ar
extremely pure rice paper which leaves
practically no ash on combustion. Those
who follow this practice use no dope" and
yet they are injured by smoking.
The answer, then, seems to lie in the
manner of smoking rather than in the cigar
cite itself The ideal smoke is the cigar
Too strong to be inhaled it does not come
in direct contact with the blood and there.
fore produces Il minimum of evil results
The pipe would be even more innocent were
it not for the fact that a pipe gets foul il
short time and is very hard to keep clean
But, as TO nicotine, many investigation:
deny that there is any whatever in tobacco
smoke.