The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-17
Corbett's Daily Letter
 On Great Sport Topics
By JAMES J. CoRBETT.

Wherein lies the harm in the use ot
 tobacco and the drinking Of tea and cof- fee?"
 Of all the questions put to me, the above perhaps is the commoncst. Prac-
 tica1ly everyone has been advised at one
 time CT another by physicians or by physical culture teachers to use caution
 in the use of tea, coffee and tobacco
 Complete avoidance of one or another has often been advised But an under standabie explanation as to why tea, cof-
 fee or tobacco are harmful is too sci. dom offered.
 The purpose of this article is to point out why this trio may menace the gen eral health if moderation is not strictly ! observed.
 Each of the three contains an alkaloid Every alkaloid has vegetable origin and the effect of alkaloids upon the
 human system is to bring freedom from pain or an abnormal condition of opium-contain very high percentage of alka]oids. But tea, coffee and tobac- co fortunately contain only small quan. tity per pound.
 The alkalod which coffee contains IS known IS caffein. Coffee also secrets considerable jamie acid. The effect of caffein upon the system is to bring about q continued stimulation. The greater the use of coffee, the greater the stimulation. If coffee is taken only oc- casionally, it does not have any really serious effect upon the human body But partaixen at each meal ,or in generous quantities each day, it means a constant and false-stimulation of the nervous system. Eventually, there is reaction, and the nervous forces show great harm caused by the constant drinking of cof- fee
 There is less harm in the drinking of coffee that is percolated than in coffee that iS boiled. The boiling process brings out the maximum amount of caf. fein, whereas in percolating much of the caffein is retained in the grounds and does not get into the liquid So if you like your coffee, drink that which is percolated and so suffer less harm
 Peculiarly enough, black coffee is less harmful to the stomach and less likely to cause biliousness than coffee contain.
 ing milk. Milk contains tactic acid which does rot mix tremendously with the tannic acid. If pure tannic acid is mixed with pure tactic acid the chem. ical result is a sort of leathery mixture. When milk is mixed with coffee it ere. ates within the cup of coffee a slight percentage of this leathery mixture : and, of course, unless the stomach is in excellent condition, a bilious condition
 results.
 Tea nas thein as it's active alkaloia.
 but also contains a certain amount lt
 caffein and very large percentage oi jamie acid.
 The best idea that one can gain from the effects of using tea is the fact that tannic acid is used mainly in the tan. ming of leather The more tea you drink the more certain you are to have a well tanned stomach. The results of tea drinking are similar to those that come from the use of coffee Some physician claim that the excessive use of tea is ! even more harmful to the human system l than the excessive use of coffee. The reason why most people cannot gc 1 to sleep fol a long time after drinking 1 tea or coffee is that the caffein stimu- 1 lates them and, of course, keeps them i awake until such time as it's effects wears l off.
 1 And now as to tobacco
 l Nicotine is the alkaloid, and is to be l found in the leaves of the tobacco plant | In addition to this, tobacco contains aiso 1 malic acid Chemists assert that purJ i nicotine is one of the most deadly | poisons in existence. The power of nico-