The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-09-23

talking shop, and he asked me
Which do you think does more
harm, alcohol or tobacco ?"-and
was reluctantly compelled to re-
ply-"Tobacco."
Understand we were talking
about sick people. ] was smoking
a large, heavy cigar at the time
and he was consuming cigarette
after cigarette. do not think that
tobacco causes any organic dis
eases, while alcohol does-eir-
rhosis of the liver and neuritis, for
instance. | do not think cigarettes
are coffin nails, that their use leads
to pulmonary consumption or in
terferes with the scholarship or
even athletic prowess of college
students. But the doctor and |
were combining ourselves to sick
people and sick people Of certain
type-middle aged and elderly
people with circulatory disturb
ances. For this class Of people
tobacco may be very harmful
because Of its physiological reae-
tons.
Some Made Worse
The class of people who have
trouble with spasm Of the blood
vessels are certainly made worse
by tobacco. These people have an
ginal heart attacks when the blood
vessels supplying the heart mus
Gle contract, or they have diff
culties in the circulation Of the
feet and hands, which in mild
stages amount to no more than
cold or tingling extremities, but
may go on, especially If compli-
Gated by diabetes to liberation Of
the skin or even gangrene.
Tobacco makes these conditions
worse, probably by bringing on
spasm Of the blood vessels.
Some controversy has arisen
as TO whether tobacco itself causes
the spasm. One school represent
ed by careful Investigators found
the effects to occur with denico-
tinized cigarettes and even corn
silk cigarettes. They attributed the
vessel changes to stimulation Of
the sympathetic nervous system
brought about by irritating effect
of any kind of smoke on the mouth
and bronchial tubes
The latest piece Of research on
the subject, however, from the sec
ton on clinical physiology Of the
Mayo Clinic, goes over the matter
taking every precaution against
error. The experiments were made
on non-suggestible subjects, all
Ihabitual smokers, in room with q
constant temperature and humid
ity. Comparison was made when
the subjects smoked cigarettes Of
all kinds and makes and corn silk
cigarettes
The results showed very def
nitely and constantly reduction
in the surface temperature Of the
skin, especially Of the hands and
feet, when the tobacco cigarettes
were smoked, not when the corn
silk cigarettes we're smoked. The
electrocardiogram also showed
changes in the heart muscle when
tobacco was used. Also the blood
pressure was raised after smoking
two cigarettes, although the ac-
tual amounts recorded do not seem
TO me important.
The studies point up the wisdom
in the dictum q doctor Of my ac-
quaintance makes to people with
early Burgers gangrene Of the
extremities-"You can either have
your toes or your tobacco: you
can't have both"
It would be very difficult for me
10 put my finger on ths exact
pleasure / get out Of smoking 4
cigar. II is, I admit, not easy to
justify the habit. But l fall back
on Carlyle, whose doctor once per-
suaded him to give up tobacco
81 was meeserable with il and I
was meeserable without it, pro-
nounced the sage, 81 would rather
be meeserable with it."
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