The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-05-15
ST Louis Republic,)

(St. LOUIS hSpllIllC.J
Much has beer said and much ink
wasted in writing about the injury to
health that may he affected by use of
tobacco. The whole subject is, OF
course. as yet quite undecided. There
are distinguished physicians who in
sist that smoking probably docs harm
tern. and through that upon the blood
vessels. Ten years ago in Berlin two
of the most distinguished professors
at h university, n of them a non
smoker and the other an invcterate
smoker, were agreed hat smoking
probably fastened that degeneration
of arteries which characterizes old age
and which represents the gradual de-
cadence of the body. The smoker,
Prof. Mendel, thought that ever
though ii did shorter life it was worth
while. There vas so much of placid
enjoyment and soothing peacefulness
TO be obtained from it ia the midst
of the hurry and hustle and worry of
life that he preferred to take the risk.
Prof. Won LeNden did not smoke, and
hoped to enjoy a longer life as a con
sequence. The non-snoker outlived
the other and perhaps thus proved
his point.
If there is any serious result pro-
dured by smoking the indication of it
is surely to be found in the a~rterial
system. Some recent Investigations
of the arteries of mummies are Very
interesting from, this standpoint. how
ever. An English pathologist who had
the opportunity to procure the arter-
les of a series of munlmies from the
eighteenth to the t~wenty-seventh dy-
nasty-that is, mainly from 1900 to
about 500 r. C.-puhlished his results
in the English journal of Pathology
and BacteriolosN last year. He found
abundant evidence of the c~haracterjs-
tic degeneration of arteries which
physicians are prone to think of as
due to various abuses in modern life.
Tho use of tobacco and alcohol and
living the strenuous life are all con-
sidered to be the most important fac
tors in the production of this early
adterio-sclerosis.
DIR. Ruffer. who made this investi-
cation. found that arterio-sclerosis
was just as common in Egypt as it is
now, and perhaps even 4. little more
no tobacco. used intoxicating liquors
only in great moderation, ate but
small quantities of meat compared to
the modern time and We're noted for
not living the strenuous life.
There is no doubt that many indi-
viduals live to Il good old age, With
arteries in thoroughly healthy condi-
ton for their years, in spite of their
free Indulgence in tobacco. Not long
since A case was reported in the med
ical journals in which a negro in
Richmond seemed. on authentic evil
dence. to have reached the age of
lo5.
Usually such stories of old age are
strongly suspected, because they oc-
cur in people who have forgotten the
date OF their birth or who perhap s
never knew il with accuracy. and who
have lost track of the years and are
now unconsciously eNaggerating them
because of the attention which they
attract. This was an exception, how
ever. n there seemed TO be every
reason to believe that Uncle Bob had
passed the century mark. His physi-
clan remarked that probably he would
have Tweed to a good round age only
to the fact hat since the age of 5
he had continually smoked and dur
ing more thar three quarters of a
century he had rhewed tobacco. The
case is no exceptional. There are men
who have lived fourscore and more
years who have smoked Very freely
from early youth.
1t is probable that certain individ-
uals are harmed by the use of tobacco.
They have an idiosyncrasy for its eff
feet. Such people suffer from heart
palpitation. from irritable nervous