Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-06-15
About Tobacco


made part OF the American soldier =
ration, a. IL has long been part Of the
supplies Of other armies. Germany, aci q
fannie in some food materials, IS still
| supplying not only her soldiers, but her
civilian population with tobacco; and
there is talk in this country Of appointing
tobacco administrator To stabilize pro-
duction and regulate imports and ex-
ports
Apparently tobacco IL one of our neCes-
sities, and moro so now than ever before
Tobacco consumption has increased great
ly since the war began. This Is partly due
70 our prosperity, OF which smoking has
always been a most sensitive barometer,
and partly to the tremendous demand
for "smokes" on the part of the soldiers.
No gift is more welcome in the trenches
than that Of nnoking tobacco
This great increase in the use Of to-
bacco has brought up again the oft-dia-
cussed but never settled question Of how
much harm smoking does 10 the health.
II hhs been suggested that the affilctiol
known as soldiers heart" might be
due to excessive cigarette smoking,
and an inquiry into tho matter has been
made by the Medical Research Com
mittee
This inquiry, like nearly ell others
that have been made into tho effects OF
smoking, gave somewhat inconclusive
results The medical men decided that
excessive smoking of cigarettes Ia a
contributory cause of heart trouble A
number of cigarette smokers were e1-
amined, and IL was found that the only
ones not affected 10 some extent by the
practice were those who did not "inhale- Z
II was therefore determined 10 warn
soldiers against "inhaling" and Excess
give smoking.
For the rest, endless evidence may he
gathered for each side Of the argument
Many eminent men, like Dr. Harvey w.
Wiley, are firmly convinced that smoking
s injurious; others are equally sure
that il is not The fact that insurance
companies do not take into account
smoking 50 a factor in longevity - cited
as proof that 10 docs not shorten l1e.
Tho friends OF tobacco are also fond Of
pointing ont that men Of high achieve
ment of every age and kind from sir
Walter Raleigh 20 Uncle Joe" Cannon.
have been heavy smokers, and that many
Of these have been conspicuous examples
of health and longevity as well ~ of
ability
The gist Of the matter seems to be thst
smoking ls an individual prccleTn: each one
must determine for himself how much
he can indulge without harm 70 himself
II also seeIns TO be clear that few men can
face life without some kind Of narcotic
comforter something TO stimulate their
dreams and make them forget their
troubles Man has never Deen free Of this
need In all tribes and nations, in all
ages, some narcotic has been used to
soothe and to stimulate Tobacco Is
perhaps the least harmful that can he
chosen. Such, at least, seems 70 be the
tacit verdict of civilization
TENDENCY TO aILDHEss.
It is interesting To note that the ten
dency of civilized man is 10 use mIlder
and mIlder forms Of tobacco This seeTns
TO be not because be Graves less nicotine
but because his pampered stomach and
nerves viii no longer support the heroic
smokes and chews of earlier generations.
DR. W. ". Garner, the tobacco expert OF
the Bureau Of Plant Industry, has re-
Gently been making some researches
into the early history of tobacco in this
country, and has found that the tendency
toward the use of milder leaf can be traced
from the earliest times Thus the In
dams raised and smoked \ tobacco which
was no less than ten per cent nicotine as
against the two or three per cent Of most
modern tobacco That PURSUANT leaf
with which the red warrior used 10 fill his
calumet would floor modern smokers
ut the frst Whit This Indian tobacco Is
no longer grown III this country, but Is
still used In some parts Of Russia, where
the primitive peasant has not vet ac-
CURED senslbilities of civilization.
Our own ancestors brought TO James
town the milder brands OF tobacco which
were then grown only IN the West Indies.
but even these cOlCn we're much harder
smokers than We are. They rolled the
raw leaf into cigars and smoked It IN pipes
without the modifying processes through
which We put it. They also cheWed enor-
nous quantities OF tobacco. The chew"
IS now going out OF fashion and promises ]
TO soon 60 out OF existence.
The pipe and the cigar Just about hold /
their own. all OF the increase IS in the /
smoking OF cigarettes, the mildest form
II which tobacco can be used. The mild. |
bright tobaccoS Of Virginia and the Caro- |
mas are the ones that are growing In |
and they are used almost |
for cigarette making The !
area III WHICH Iles arc grown spreads /
steadiy and promises ultimately to reach /
% the gulf
HUGE ACREAGE Is USED.
About /, 100000 acres of our arabic |
oil is devoted To the raising Of tobacco. |
md this Is about one twentieth of all our /
arm lands. On this area we raise about a /
billion pounds Of tobacco annually '. of which /
Il normal times we export about FORTY /
,er cent But we also import normal 1