474 



ORGAN SYSTEMS OF MAN 



decade ago and its record of success is 

 impressive. It should be called to the atten- 

 tion of anyone who believes his habit of 

 alcoholism is getting out of control. 



The use of tobacco 



A brief discussion of the tobacco habit 

 will be considered, not because it has any- 

 thing to do with nutrition (in this sense it 

 differs from alcohol), but only because it 

 is often associated with alcohol in the lay- 

 man's mind. One may become nauseated 

 by too much smoking but he does not be- 

 come inebriated so that he loses control of 

 his higher faculties. At this point, it might 

 be well to point out that one can form a 

 deleterious habit of drinking cokes, coffee, 

 or tea, all of which contain caffeine. Even 

 cocoa contains theobromine, likewise a 

 stimulatory drug. It seems that through 

 man's evolution he has constantly sought 

 out concoctions containing substances 

 which either stimulated or depressed him 

 thus changing his behavior to a greater or 

 lesser degree. Even today the drug-contain- 

 ing beverages are the most popular. Such 

 drugs as marihuana and cocaine derivatives 

 have to be denied the general public by law 

 because their effects are so drastic, and 

 their habit-forming power so great. It is a 

 strange paradox that man must be pro- 

 tected from destroying his life by drugs 

 and poisons of various kinds — something a 

 lower animal would never do. What price 

 civilization! 



It is common knowledge that the young 

 adult who first starts to smoke is likely to 

 become nauseated and very ill; with per- 

 sistence he becomes tolerant to the tobacco 

 toxins and derives pleasure from the experi- 

 ence. However, his initial contact with 

 tobacco indicates clearly the poisonous na- 

 ture of the various irritating substances, 

 nicotine included, that are volatilized dur- 

 ing the smoking process. Whether its pro- 

 longed use is detrimental is even more 

 questionable than alcohol. Tobacco has 

 certain definite physiological effects, such 

 as the contraction of the capillaries at the 

 finger tips and a slight increase in the 

 heart rate, but whether or not these are 

 injurious has not been definitely proven. 

 Experiments with rats, exposed for several 

 generations to both tobacco smoke and to 

 nicotine injections, showed no ill effects. 

 Man does not always respond as the rat 

 does, so that final conclusions cannot be 

 had from these experiments. 



Why people smoke in ever increasing 

 numbers is difficult to say. Certainly little 

 satisfaction can be obtained from the direct 

 answers of the smokers themselves. The 

 chief reason is probably to relieve tension. 

 This is accomplished by the simple manipu- 

 lation of the tobacco and all the mechanical 

 gadgets associated with it. If nothing else, it 

 is an expensive habit, especially for young 

 college people who generally cannot and 

 should not afford it. 



