OTHER EVIL EFFECTS.
It renders the system more liable to attacks of pneumonia and bronchitis. It destroys a healthy appetite for solid food, and by the constant spitting it causes, excites a craving for drink. Many instances are known where the nerves of the eye have been destroyed by cigarette smoking. The following are the words of Dr. S. H. Keep, one of the leading physicians of Brooklyn:
“If one could select a fine, healthy boy of from twelve to fifteen years of age, well known for his fine physique, even disposition, and great strength, and start him in his career as a cigarette smoker under the observant eye of the public, what results might not accrue from such example as the panorama was unfolded to them?
“The decay of physical power, emaciation, the irritable temper, the sallow complexion, the drawn and anxious look, the unsteadiness of the hands, the dyspepsia, the capricious appetite, the aversion to parental and other advice, the tendency to seek lower companionship, could hardly fail to leave its impress upon such an audience.
“More especially in the nervous diathesis[[1]] does this rapid decay make itself apparent, and in varying degrees according to the amount of indulgence. Physicians daily watch this process with pain and anxiety for those intrusted to their care. Indeed, if my own professional experience were to be my guide, I could declare the evil of cigarette smoking to be even greater than that of alcohol.”
[1]. Di ath´ e sis—A condition of the body which, predisposes it to a particular disease.
So alarming has become this evil that in some States, laws have been passed against cigarette smoking. But I trust that if any of you has felt like forming the vile habit, your own good sense will not allow you to do so.
What is the first step toward the ruin of the body and soul? What is the second step? What follows?
Where will you be by this time? What then will follow?
How is it that some boys do not seem to suffer from cigarette smoking? What takes place every year?
How many cigarettes were smoked in this country in 1883? Of what are they generally made? What of saltpetre?
What is said of the genuine Havana cigarette? Are there many genuine ones made?
What of the oil of tobacco? Of the oil of the paper?
How does smoking affect the young?
What loathsome disease is almost certain to result from cigarette smoking? Why?
What does cigarette smoking tend to produce? What other effect has it on the system? What is its effect on the appetite? How does it excite a craving for drink?
What is said by Dr. Keep, of Brooklyn?
What has been done by some of the States? What are your own views on the vice of cigarette smoking? Are you weak-minded enough to be persuaded ever to place a vile cigarette between your lips?
CHAPTER XVIII.
ALCOHOL.
Alcohol does not exist in nature. It is a fluid made by fermentation, or the rotting of vegetables and their juices. Beer, cider, and wine are produced by the decay of a sweet liquid taken from grain or fruits. Alcohol is that element in malt and spirituous liquors which produces intoxication.