NICOTINE AND ADOLESCENCE 141 



the lungs, they separate. The smoke stays on all the deli- 

 cate tissues of the lung cells, which is bad enough. But 

 volatilized nicotine is not hindered by any tissues. Instead, it 

 passes directly through the tissue of the lung cells, enters the 

 blood stream, and is whirled to the heart by the straightest 

 road possible. 



At the moment it arrives, the sphygmograph shows what 

 the poisoned whip has done. It has lashed the heart to 

 vigorous action not to last long, however, for soon the 

 same sphygmograph shows that the vigor has gone and that 

 the permanent condition grows worse rather than better. 



The United States army gives proof of this. At an ex- 

 amination for the military school at West Point one quarter 

 of the young men had to be refused admittance because they 

 had what is called " tobacco heart " from cigarette smoking. 



At another time a set of 412 boys wished to enter the 

 naval school at Annapolis. They were examined by an officer 

 in Peoria, Illinois, and all but 14 were turned away. As was 

 said by the examiner, " Of the 398 rejections, the greater 

 number were on account of weak hearts, and in the majority 

 of cases this was caused by cigarette smoking." 



So the list of those who have harmed themselves through 

 ignorance might be lengthened. 



With these facts in mind we understand why it is that, in 

 every school and college where the subject has been looked 

 into, people find that, on the average, smoking students rank 

 lower and are slightly older than those who do not smoke. 



In 1897, at Yale University, when Dr. Seaver made his 

 thorough study of the matter, he found that out of every 

 100 students who ranked highest, 5 were smokers, 95 non- 

 smokers. Among the rest of the students at that time, 60 out 

 of every 100 smoked. He also found that, on the average, 



