FOODS 329 



however, a matter of controversy at present, whether alcohol in small 

 doses can be considered a true foodstuff capable of serving as a direct 

 source of energy, and of replacing a corresponding amount of fats and 

 carbohydrates in the daily diet." — William H. Howell, American Text- 

 book of Physiology (Philadelphia, 1896), page 297. 



"The nutritive value of alcohol has been the subject of considerable dis- 

 cussion and not a few experiments. Some of these tend to show that in 

 moderate non-poisonous doses it acts as a non-proteid food in diminishing 

 the oxidation of proteid, doubtless by becoming itself oxidized. Its aci-ion, 

 however, in this respect, is relatively small, and, indeed, a certain propor- 

 tion of the alcohol ingested is exhaled with the air of respiration. 



"Moreover, in large doses it [alcohol] may act in a contrary manner, 

 increasing the waste of tissue proteid. It cannot, in fact, be doubted that 

 any small production of energy resulting from its oxidation is more than 

 counterbalanced by its deleterious influence as a drug upon the tissue ele- 

 ments, and especially upon those of the nervous system." — E. A.. 

 ScHAEFER, A Text-book of Physiology (1898), page 882. 



The Use of Tobacco. — A well-known authority defines a nar- 

 cotic as a substance '' which directly induces sleep, blunts the 

 senses, and, in large amounts, produces complete insensibility " 

 Tobacco, opium, chloral, and cocaine are examples of nar- 

 cotics. Tobacco owes its narcotic influence to a strong poison 

 known as nicotine. In experiments with jellyfish and other 

 lowly organized animals, the author has found as small a per 

 cent as one part of nicotine to one hundred thousand parts 

 of sea water to be sufficient to profoundly a^ffect an animal 

 placed within it. Nicotine in a pure form is so powerful a poison 

 that two or three drops would be sufficient to cause the death of a 

 man by its action upon the nervous system, especially the nerves 

 controlling the beating of the heart. This action is well known 

 among boys training for athletic contest. The heart is affected, 

 boys become ^' short winded'' as a result of the action on the 

 heart. It has been demonstrated that tobacco has, too, an 

 important effect on muscular development. The stunted appear- 

 ance of the young smoker is well known. 



