Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-08-31
"Alcoholic Disease" a Myth

"Alcoholic Disease" a Myth
Is a drunkard a drunkard because
he is i'll: or Is he ill just because
he Is a drunkard? 1t is regarded
as fallacy by Charles B, Towns of
New York. whose activities in the
study and prevention of the drink
and drug evils have made him wide
ly known. In an article, entitled
"Who Is Responsible for Drug Ad-
diction?" contributed to The Ameri-
can Journal of Clinical Medicine
Chicago, JULY, Mr.. Towns ex-
presses his belief that large share
of the responsibility of alcoholic and
other drug-addiction must be laid at
the door Of physicians, nurses and
druggists. To quote and condense
his. article:
There is no such thing as inher-
iting the alcohol or the drug habit.
A mans father and mother-and
all his relatives, back to Brian Boru
or Julius Caesar-may have been
drunkards or opium smokers or CO.
caine snuffers: still that does not
constitute the slightest reason why
the man himself must inevitably
be drunkard, 'hop-fiend, or a
cocaine, user. For the drug habit.
like any other habit, is an acquired
trait; and acquired traits are not
transmissible.
II know that this assertion will
cause acute mental discomfort to the
many that have made their family
and friends, as well as themselves,
believe that the unovercomable and
most grave and respectable reason
Tor their excessive indulgence is,
that their father or grandfather
Tor the poison. But there is in sci
ence absolutely no basis of justifica-
ton for such a claim.
This does not mean, however,
that man may not inherit an UNI
stable nervous system from ances-
tors that has Systematically poi
soned their organisms. A man that
has a father whose cells were thor
oughly saturated with booze and
tobacco could, and probably would,
inherit a defective nervous system
But he could not inherit craving
Tor narcotics or alcoholics.
Il am not minimizing the fact that
certain alcoholics seem fordoomed
to drink to excess because their
highly nervous organisms crave the
excitation conferred by alcohol, be-
cause they do not get enough to eat,
or because they do not assimilate
their food, or because their tissue
become alcoholics. because, through
the help of stimulants, they have
habitually forced themselves to
overwork. to bear burdens Of re-
sponsibility beyond their normal
strength, or to overcome poor
health, eye-strain, grief or anxiety.
These people may be physically
or mentally abnormal; but they do
not suffer from alcoholic disease
as such. There is no such thing as
an alcoholic disease There are
diseases engendered by alcoholic
poisoning-there are degenerate
conditions Of both mind and body
brought about by alcohol-but there
is no such thing as the disease of
| alcoholism
'"The alcoholic is sick man; how
ever, he is sick because of the alco-
hol used. He Is not alcoholic be-
| cause of an inherent /phsychosis that
impels him to the use Of alcohol.
"Delirium tremens is a disease:
| alcoholic insanity is disease; but
| these have their origin in nothing
! but alcoholic poisoning. If the man
be medically imprisoned, he can
not experience any of these diseased
conditions. In these circumstances
the responsibility for the develop
ment of his tolerance must rest with
the one that first administered OF
first supplied the drug. In this re-
spect a great army of present drug
takers never were properly safe
guarded against forming the habit
much less properly helped in
| overcoming 1t.
The average physician, for one
thing. never has realized how easily
the drug habit may be established
and so. in perfectly good faith, he
lief Of pain or discomfort, which
pain or discomfort it might have
been possible to relieve in other
ways. So, the patient, naturally as,
sociating his relief with the means
adopted to ease him, has persisted
in the use of the opiate, when pos.
slDly 1t no longer was NECESSARY
Conservative physicians are SC
keenly aware of this possibility tha
some of them go so far as never tc
carry hypodermic outfit.
Nurses, too, have a heavy re-
sponsibility to shoulder in respec
to drug addiction. For scores O.
thousands of habitues have beer
broken into the use Of the drug.
that subsequently owned them, bod,
and soul, by careless nurse, debo
nairly seeking the easiest way t.
bring relief-irrespective of VIVA
she might be bringing on while Civ.
ing this relief.
when anyone can go into almos
any drug store and buy paregoric
1t can readily be understood how
upon the laxity of the law that per
mits this practice there can legiti
mately be, charged damning re
sponsibility.
"Paregoric contains ASS per cen
Of alcohol and 1.9 grains Of opium
in each fluid ounce-a shot Of booze
that would satisfy the most exactinl
topper, and a dose Of morphine
equivalent to that usually given
normal adult. Yet the sale Of thi
tincture comes within the law. Il
fact, the extent to which the manu-
facture, sale and use of many so
called patents and 'proprietaries
are responsible for the growth o
drug addiction Is not even nov
understood. Yet these preparation
are alf>dispensed within the Law
They are part of the regular stocI
in trade of every drug store and ar
sold in the regular course of bust
Noess, with perfect legal propriety.
$50 no really informed perso
| now questions the fact that tn
present state and federal laws hav
not accomplished the purposes TO
J., which they were intended.
yet neither the medical profes
: sion nor the druggists are willing t
5 admit responsibility for the ute
, inef11ciency Of the present metho
!, Of narcotic regulation. Indeed.
! is rather significant that the dru
interests have officially put their un
! qualified approval upon the law a
5 it exists at the present stime-a lais
{ ser faire endorsement with ven
geance.
'In view Of all these facts, and I