The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1940-02-27
HAVE YOU A LITTLE co N
YOUR BLOOD? q

HAVE YOU A LITTLE co IN
YOUR BLOOD? ri
When coal, coke, charccal,. wood,
oil, gas, gasoline, cotton, cloth or
any other fuel or material burns
with q free supply of air (o1 or
open draft, the chief product OF
combustion Is carbon dioxide, other
wise called eaFbonic acid gas, form
ed by the chemical combination Of
one part, (atom of carbon, the
symbol for carbon Is o. and two
atoms of q, and the product is co,
q gas present in'the air In minute
quantities (tl1ree parts In ten thou
sand in open country, as much as
20 TO 30 parts in 10000 In narrow
city alleys or canyons where there
Is poor ventilation 400 to 500 parts
per 10000 in brewerfes where fer
mentation produces great quantities
Of the gas.) 's.' eg
Any fuel burning therefore con-
surnes oxygen and produces carbon
dioxide. Ordinary gas Jet produces
three cubic feet of Coz In an hour:
a man quietly breathing produces
one cubic foot. Therefore an oil
lamp or gas burner exhausts the
oxygen from the air Of q room as
much as q person does, and q heater
burning gas, oil, gasoline, coal, coke,
charcoal or wood uses up as much
oxygen as many persons would.
When any fuel burns with q re-
stricted supply Of air, closed damp
err. or with flame flaring, or when
accumula lions Of SCOT on burners
become ncandescent, or when cast
iron becomes red hot some 90.
carbon n1onoxide, may be given of.
When flame irnpinges on any cold
surface some co may be produced
by incomplete combustion. When
illuminating gas (artificaf gas, coal
gas or water gaS) Is turned on too
fun some OF the large amount of
co it contains may escape unburn-
ed, in lamp, gas plate, room heater,
water heater.
During the smoking Of cigar, pipe
or cigarette a certain amount Of co
is produced and absorbed by the
smoker into the blood. Whether the
monoxide in tobacco smoke Is the
chief factor in the effects Of smok-
ing is still a matter of debate. My
own opinion is that, so far as our
present knowledge goes, it IS more
logical to ascribe the effects OF
smoking to carbon monoxide than
to nicotine or other substances which
may be present In the smoke.
The blood Of most city jewellers
to- day contains traces Of carbon
monoxide. Smoking quickly Jumps
the amount of monoxide In the
blood UP to q comparatively signi-
ficant level. In other words smok-
ing produces degree Of anoxia,
shortage Of oxygen in the body It's
sues and celles. This state would
seem consistent with the observa-
lions Of Silbert and Friedlander
(Jour. ANA, May 80, Sd, who
found the basal metabolism OF
smokers always about 15% below
normal and. this minus metabolism
continued for months after smok-
ing was given up.
y b. . =
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Acidity
Can you tell me something to d.
minish acidity in the urine?
Il. M. 81
A1swer-Tfese foods tend to in
crease the normal acidity Of urine:
Meat, eggs, whole grains, peanuts,
prunes, pltlnns, cranberries. These
tend to decrease acidity Of the
urine: Potatoes, tomatoes and to-
mato juice, citrus fruits or their
Juices, apples, bananas lettuce,
ralsins, milk, water, vegetable soups,
all the vegetables and all the fruits
except the three above mentioned
(Which happen to contain benzoic
acid.
Health and Longevity
Is It q fact that people who are
below normal health most Of their
life are more likely to attain adj
vanced age than people who enjoy
more vigorous health as rule?
TX. G. L.
sAnswer-No. Perhaps that idea
comes from the hilosophical OBJ
servation that In some instances an
afflictioil such as chronic bronchi-
tbs or valvular heart disease may
make the patent live so carefully
and void excuses that he prolongs
his life.
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