El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-09-05

conveyed By the same route in form OF
a vapor. But II doesn't. Despite all
logic 10 the contrary. smoking does
not kill, nor. as far as scientific in
vestigation can discover. seriously in
Nicotine Not Burned.
Various reasons suggest themselves
why smoking is not injurious. You
might think. for example. that most Of
the nicotine is burned up in the
process and does not reach the sys-
TEN But this explanation has been
put to the test and found wanting
Some OF the nicotine is burned up. but
analyses OF the smoke show that most
Of the nicotine Is in it
Il has also occurred to scientists
that perhaps the nicotine stays in the
smoke. so that you take IT in and blow
1t out again, merely harboring the
poison for a second or so. This sounds
plausible. but there is nothing in It
Examination of the smoke after Il
comes out OF the mouth shows that
the nicotine has been extracted 1t
remains in your system
1t has also been thought that in the
course Of combustion. the nicotine may
combine with some other substance
which neutralizes its effect. but no
evidence Of such a combination has
been found. The strange and mex
plicable fact remains When you
smoke your cigar you take into your
system enough poison TO kill you sew
eral times over, but in that particular
form the poison operates only as a
mild sedative.
Insects Like It. Too.
Man is not the only creature affect
ed Variously by nicotine in different
forms. For example. there are certain
insects, known as thrips, which feed
oh THAI ~ N HE 0F
living exclusively upon a diet of good
hurley. and often destroy whole crops
Of it In so doing. they eat and digest
large quantities of nicotine, and II
seems TO agree with them and make
them fat Yet the insecticide used
for destroying these bugs is moth
ing less than a spray OF which the j
chief constituent is nicotinei The
very substance which is their food in
one form kills them simultaneously
in another form
Perhaps the most convincing proof
less to man Is found in the statistics
and practice Of the life insurance
comps Ries. According to a well post
ed government expert, no discrimina-
ton is made against the smoker BY
any life insurance company. II to-
bacco shortened human life, the in
surance companies could not afford
to overlook the fact II II consid-
erably impaired human efficiency,
they could not disregard that fact
either. for it would tend indirectly to
shorten life. and would materially az
feet the making Of payments.
The fact that all OF the govern
ments engaged in the great war pro-
vided their troops with tobacco ra-
tons, while trying in every way to
keep them in perfect physical condi-
ton. is also evidence that it does not
seriously injure health.
Has Varied Effect.
It is admitted, however, that tobac-
CO affects different individuals very
differently. There are some men who
literally cannot smoke One govern
ment scientist who spends much of
his time working with tobacco has
never been able to smoke with any
satisfaction. Moreover, working in a
tobacco warehouse, he has been made
violently sick by the mere smell Of
the plant, which Is pleasant to many
persons who never smoke.
IN the same way, Tolstoi, the great
Russian writer, gave up smoking be-
cause he said it clouded his mind But
many other writer's always smoke
when writing because it stimulates
their minds. Thomas Carlyle, one Of
the greatest thinkers England has
produced, was an inveterate smoker.
Alfred Tennyson, the poet, was an
other. He said that he did his best
work when smoking his after break
fast pipe. Both Of these men lived to
old age.
Smoking has been so generally re-
garded as a minor vice, or selfindul-
gence. that its benefits have been
largely overlooked. From a medical
point ofsvIew, it is a valuable soda
tive with very slight after effects.
Physicians often prescribe moderate /
smoking. All who saw service in the