The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1929-01-01

Medical ASSOCIATION sometime ago, namely,
by physicians for medical purposes are in
ALCOHOL FROM THE STANDPOINT
OF MODERN SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE
For many centuries man has consumed
various kinds of alcoholic drinks. The
amount of alcohol in these drinks has
varied greatly They can, however, be
divided into three general groups:
Beer, containing from to per cent Of
alcohol
Wines, containing from 10 to 20 per cent
And strong liquors, like whisky. rum
and gin, containing from 40 to so per
cent.
Viewed from the standpoint of modern
scientific medicine alcohol belongs to the
group of narcotics which consist of al
cohol. either chloroform, choral and
similar drugs, such as sulphonal and
veronal. The general sections of all the
members of this narcotic group are very
much the same. They produce a first
stage of imperfect consequences and con-
fused IDEAS followed later by siege of
excitement, and if the dose is large COM
plete Inconsistencies which may if the
dose is sufficiently large, terminate in
death. fatal dose varies from a pint
to a quart of alcohol consumed within
few hours.
DIRECT INJURIOUS ACTION IN
THE BRAIN
There are some disputes as to whether
these drugs are stimulants or are para
lying agents. Scientific men who have
studied this problem for the most part
regard them as not being stimulants at
all, or if they have stimulating action,
the stimulating action is very temporary
as the main action is that of depressing
agents. All of these narcotics have
special affinity for fatty tissues and the
nervous system and are carried, after
being absorbed in the body, by the blood
to the brain where the nerve cells are
rich in fatty substances, called lipoids.
Alcohol produces a direct injurious effect
upon the brain.
EFFECT ON NERVOUS SYSTEM
The action of alcohol on the nervous
system differs a good deal in different in
dividuals. In small amounts it produces
a feeling of greater confidence in the
mental and physical powers of the in
dividual who may become boisterous and
loquacious; self control is lost and the
Win-poWer is weakened. The individual
may seem to be unusually clever for a
time and then tn speech becomes diff
cult. the gait unsteady, and this may
be followed by nausea and vomiting.
Large doses of alcohol may produce very
deep sleep which may pass into such COM
pleAe NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. as 10 leSeIl Die the
condition of ether or chloroform anes-
thesia, and this condition may last for
hours, and eventually result in death
Carefully planned experiments show
that regiments of troops can march fur
ther and are in better condition after Sc
we're exercise without alcohol than those
that are supplied with alcohol In doing
intellectual work it has been found that
the receptive and intellectual powers are
weakened by very small quantities of al
eohol. This has been tested out with
people setting up type and with people
adding Up columns of figures, and in a
variety Of ways.
EFFECT ON DIGESTION
The effects of alcohol on digestion has
bden extensively studied It's continued
use in considerable quantities produces
chronic irritation of the stomach, a gas
trio catarrh, with resulting nausea and
vomiting. 1t has often been claimed that
alcohol is of value as a food. 1t is true