TOBACCO 47 



88. Snuff. Taking snuff is going out of fashion. 

 Snuff is used to produce a sneeze. It may be fun to 

 make oneself sneeze, but snuff is poisonous and is a bad 

 thing to use for this purpose. A sneeze is really an at- 

 tempt to drive out something which is hurting the nose. 

 Surely it does not pay to hurt the nose for a sneeze. 



We all know of men, and even women, who chew and 

 smoke every day and yet live long and healthy lives. 

 If tobacco evidently harmed every one who uses it, the 

 law would have stopped its use long ago. But because 

 its hurtfulness shows itself only slowly and because the 

 body can become somewhat used to it, men say it is harm- 

 less, and some even say it is good for the body. The truth 

 is that tobacco will surely do a great harm to at least one 

 quarter of those who use it, and may harm the others at 

 any time. 



89. Opium. Opium is another narcotic which men 

 learn to use. It is the dried juice of the poppy plant. It 

 stops pain, produces sleep, and gives nervous people a 

 calm and contented feeling. Many different substances 

 in the opium can do this, but a white substance called 

 morphine is the main one. In large doses, opium or mor- 

 phine causes deep sleep and great weakness of the body 

 until death occurs. In small doses it hinders the work of 

 the stomach and intestine, so that food is not digested as 

 it should be. So the body loses weight and strength. 

 The body may get used to the drug so that more and more 

 is needed to quiet the nerves. It always weakens the 

 body and causes death in a few months or years. The 

 opium habit is one of the hardest to break. Some use 

 opium by smoking it like tobacco. 



90. Chloral. Chloral is a solid with a sharp, peppery 

 taste. It is used much like opium. It calms nervousness 



