TOBACCO.
As this substance is so generally used and so often referred to in
connection with alcohol as to its effects upon the human system, it
appears proper to allude to its physiological effects upon the brain in
this immediate connection.
Views of an opposite character as to its use have long prevailed. Much has
been written in relation to its baneful effects upon the human system, the
active poisons it is known to contain, and its demoralizing tendencies in
general. It has been accused of being the cause of numerous diseases of a
grave nature, such as cancer, chronic bronchitis, insanity, diseases of
the throat and the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose, etc., etc.
It bears the blame of causing filthy, and ofttimes disgusting, habits, and
of being not only a useless but a pernicious and expensive luxury.
On the other hand, much has been and continues to be said as to its
comforting and soothing effects, and the sense of enjoyment and luxury
resulting from it, when used in the form of smoke and with moderation.
And if an opinion as to its excellencies and value to the human race could
be formed from the amount yearly consumed, or the vast sums of capital
invested in its culture, manufacture, and sales in the United States
alone, it would take rank as an article possessed of the highest value to
mankind.
This, however, cannot be considered as a fair criterion by which to judge
of its virtues or its vices; neither can we look for an impartial judgment
as to its influence upon individuals or society, from those who may form
opinions founded on impressions or prejudices only. It becomes necessary,
therefore, to study its physiological effects as accurately and
impartially as possible, and accept such results as this course may lead
to.
For my present purpose it does not become necessary to go into details as
to the effects of all the elements of tobacco, or of the effects of any of
these elements, except as observed in their action upon the nervous
system. I shall not, therefore, enter upon any minute analysis of the
substance, preferring to leave this for those who write with a view of
covering a more extended field of research.
When tobacco, in substance, or in the form of smoke, comes in contact with
the mucous membrane of the mouth, throat, and nose, there results a more
or less distinct biting sensation on the tongue and in the throat, unless
these parts have already become accustomed to its effects. This increases
in the case of the beginner, until in a few minutes a feeling of warmth
and faintness comes on, often attended with nausea, vomiting, and
headache. If the dose has been sufficient, the person becomes faint and
unable to stand, the skin becomes cool, a perspiration appears on the
forehead, the heart acts feebly, the respiration is short and hurried, and
life itself is in danger.[19]
One of the elements of tobacco, nicotine (which is itself composed of
several bases), passes into the blood, and is conveyed in it to the brain.
As this is one of the most active poisons of which we have any knowledge,
and, as such, acts directly on the brain, rapidly inducing the conditions
mentioned, and overpowering the functions of the nervous system, it will
readily be comprehended how profound its influence must be upon the
nervous filaments and brain-cells. This influence is one of paralysis--a
deadening of the functional activity of certain portions of the brain,
and, if continued long enough, is radiated through the nerves to the heart
and other organs.
If, however, a small quantity only has been absorbed into the circulation,
the effect upon the brain is less permanent than would be expected from
its profound influence. It soon becomes eliminated from the system through
the agency of the lungs, the skin, and the kidneys,[20] and the nervous
system resumes its normal activity.
Subsequent experiences after the first few are widely different. The brain
becomes _tolerant_ of the poison, so far as relates to its more manifest
and paralyzing effect, and in the process of time the smoker realizes very
little, if any, other than a sense of soothing, and, therefore, grateful
influence upon the system. The brain even comes, in the process of time
and experience, to crave its influence. A condition, abnormal as to
experiences and cravings, has resulted, which will demand the frequent and
continued repetition of those pleasing sensations which result from its
use. When this influence passes off, there comes again into operation a
more acute activity of nerve function, and a consequent sensation
bordering upon or akin to pain as the brain begins to act under the
freedom and force of a vitality not blunted or partially paralyzed by the
presence of the poison. To relieve this there must be a repetition of its
use, and this process continues until there becomes developed a true
_diathesis_ of the nervous system, as in the case of alcohol and opium,
though one not, in general, so difficult to overcome.
Moreover, the influence of tobacco upon the brain is essentially different
from that of alcohol. From the effect of the latter there results a vast
increase of functional activity of the heart, and, in the primary stage of
its influence, of that portion of the brain which is concerned in
mentality, while no such increase of functional activity of any portion of
the nervous system results from the physiological effects of tobacco. On
the contrary, these are of a paralyzing nature while they continue. The
field of consciousness is less broad, the imagination and reason less keen
and active.
But, on the other hand, the immediate effects of tobacco are much less
permanent than those of alcohol; its elements are more speedily eliminated
through the action of the lungs, to which they pass in the blood, and also
by the skin and kidneys, toward which organs the essential oil contained
in tobacco has a much stronger tendency than alcohol has.
It must be borne in mind, however, that the effect of tobacco upon the
brain-cells is essentially and directly that of a narcotic, and in this
respect differs from that of alcohol, which acts only indirectly as such,
through its paralyzing influences upon the vaso-motor system; and
therefore its immediate effects, while they continue, are more injurious,
than would be those of alcohol, though, in reality, they are much less so,
as they so soon pass off.
It is the narcotic influence upon the brain which renders tobacco so
injurious when used by young children and youth. The frequent repetition
of this narcotic upon the nervous system in early life, serves to
partially check its growth and development, and consequently must impede
very greatly its normal activity and power of application and mental
attainment. Both the intellectual and moral powers of the mind become less
keen and sensitive, so that a less high standard in these departments of
mentality is reached by those children who use tobacco than would
otherwise be possible for them; and I am not surprised, therefore, to
learn that, in consequence of observations as to the influence of tobacco
upon the youth in the schools of both Germany and France, legal
enactments, as against its use by these scholars, have been made. Such
enactments ought to exist in the schools of all civilized countries, and I
have no doubt the time will come when they will.
It appears to me to be especially important that such legal enactments as
against its use by children should obtain in this country, where the
facilities for obtaining it are greater than in most others. The example
of its use is almost constantly before little children when on the street.
It is generally and lavishly used by a large proportion of men; the tax on
it is lower, and the price cheaper, than elsewhere; and there exists a
custom of throwing away half-used cigars on the streets and sidewalks, so
that children can easily obtain the article without cost. It is rarely the
case when in town that I do not see boys from six to twelve years of age,
smoking together these half-used cigars.
The children of the poor are frequently or nightly on the street long
after dark, and are, consequently, very little under the restraint of
parental government; they are constantly under the influence of the
example of older persons in reference to this habit of smoking, and,
therefore, are in danger of contracting it very early in life. In the
absence of other restraint they specially need that of the guardians of
law, and the highest interests of society require that they have it.
The _Boston Journal_ has recently published the results of investigations
concerning the number of boys in the public schools of that city who use
tobacco. The master of the Latin School informs the reporter that one half
of the boys from fourteen to eighteen years of age had used the weed,
though probably few had fully contracted the habit. Many of them smoke on
the sly, though some have the permission of their parents to use it. In
the English High School, it is thought that few of the boys smoke, and
none are allowed to chew. The master's view, however, is that a teacher's
precepts are of little use in preventing the habit unless they are
reinforced by his example. The principal of the Dudley School, Boston
Highlands, is of the opinion that something like forty per cent. of his
boys use it more or less. The master of the Emerson School, East Boston,
having studied the subject, concludes that out of four hundred boys there
are forty habitual smokers, and that one third of the whole number
occasionally smoke. He thinks that it is rarely the case that boys begin
smoking _before they are eight years of age_. In the Grammar School at
Charlestown it is estimated that forty of the three hundred boys use
tobacco habitually, and that many more have occasionally smoked. Master
Harrington, of the Eliot School does not think that a larger proportion
than one third of all his boys have yet contracted the habit.
Not a few young men have consulted me professionally, whose nervous
systems have been greatly impaired from the habit of smoking, and who say
they formed the habit when not more than eight or ten years of age, and
they would gladly give it up, and undo its influence if such a thing were
possible. In such cases society should protect itself, at least until the
individual has become old enough to realize, in some measure, the results
of his action.
Of the effects of the use of tobacco upon other portions of the system
than the brain it is not within my province, or necessary to my purpose,
to refer at this time, though they may be, and doubtless are of a grave
character in some cases. To sum up its effects upon the mental and moral
character of the young, when it is daily or frequently used, I cannot do
better than use the words of a pamphlet published by Monsieur Fievee in
relation to its general effects upon society:
"We do not insist principally on the material disasters resulting from
tobacco, knowing very well that any reasoning on this subject will not
produce conviction. A danger of far greater interest to those concerned in
the preservation of the individual, is the enfeeblement of the human mind,
the loss of the powers of intelligence and of moral energy; in a word, of
the vigor of the intellect, one of the elements of which is memory. We are
much deceived if the statistics of actual mental vigor would not prove the
lower level of the intellect throughout Europe since the introduction of
tobacco. The Spaniards have first experienced the penalty of its abuse,
the example of which they have so industriously propagated, and the
elements of which originated in their conquests and their ancient energy.
The rich Havana enjoys the monopoly of the poison which procures so much
gold in return for so many victims; but the Spaniards have paid for it
also by the loss of their political importance, of their rich appanage of
art and literature, of their chivalry, which made them one of the first
peoples of the world. Admitting that other causes operated, tobacco has
been one of the most influential. Spain is now a vast tobacco-shop, and
its only consolation is, that other nations are fast approaching its
level.
"Tobacco, as the great flatterer of sensuality, is one of the most
energetic promoters of individualism--that is, of a weakening of social
ties. Its appearance coincides fatally with reform and the spirit of
inquiry. Man inaugurates the introduction of logic in matters
inaccessible, at the same time that, as Montaigne says, he gives way to a
habit destructive of the faculty of ratiocination--a contradiction which
shows us that necessity of defect by which he is tortured."[21]
Two inferences may be drawn from the results of our discussion.
1. It does not appear from the considerations presented above, that
tobacco is an agent _directly_ responsible in any large degree for the
production of insanity, nor does this appear to be the case as indicated
by the statistics of asylums for the insane, nor by observation or
experience. It rather appears that it is responsible as an agent which, in
some measure, from its effects as a poison on the brain, must tend to
check the growth and development of the intellectual and moral power in
the individual, especially when indulged in during the period of youth and
early manhood; and thus it becomes allied with other agencies which, in
many cases, would not otherwise become operative in the production of
insanity.
2. It also becomes a factor of importance in indirectly producing disease
of the nervous system, through hereditary influence. As we have so
frequently had occasion to observe hitherto, any abnormal condition which
has existed sufficiently long to become a true diathesis, not only may,
but is very likely to be transmitted in some form or other to those who
come after. This has been shown in relation to the influence of
over-stimulation from application to study, and from the effects of
alcohol; and though the effects of both these are essentially different
from that of tobacco, yet we can but consider the latter as very injurious
in its influence. Indeed, I am inclined to regard the physiological
effects of tobacco when used to excess as likely to appear in offspring in
the form of a lower grade of intellectual and moral character, though to a
less extent than are those of alcohol.